Suspect arrested 13 years after Indian professor’s hand chopped off for ‘insulting Prophet’

Man with ties with banned Muslim outfit arrested after a decade of chase

Representational image: India’s central invetsigative agency arrested the accused with the help of Kerala police on Tuesday (AFP/Getty Images)

Police in India have arrested a man for cutting off a professor's hand a decade ago in the southern state of Kerala for allegedly insulting Islam in an exam paper.

Savad, a 38-year-old man identified just by his first name, was arrested from Kannur district by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday following a chase of 13 years.

TJ Joseph, then a professor of Malayalam language at a local college, was returning from a Sunday mass in the idyllic town of Muvattupuzha in July 2010 when a group of men blocked his car. An axe-wielding man opened the car door after smashing the window, pulled the professor out and began assaulting him.

One of Mr Joseph's hands was completely severed while the other was left barely hanging from the rest of the body. The suspects reportedly detonated a crude bomb and fled the scene, leaving the bleeding victim on the road.

The professor was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad in one of the question papers set by him for a college exam that year in March. Four months later, the attack was carried out by the Popular Front of India – a Muslim political organisation banned by India for being involved in terrorism and radicalising people for “anti-national activities”.

He was rushed to a hospital where half a dozen doctors conducted surgery for over 15 hours to stitch the severed hand and repair his wrist.

The local police over the years arrested 42 people in relation to the case. Three people were sentenced to life after 19 were convicted on being found guilty under India's Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Mr Savad, accused of playing a crucial part in the planning and execution of the attack, had managed to evade the authorities for over a decade despite carrying a Rs1,000,000 (£9,434) bounty on his head.

An Interpol red-corner notice was also issued against him.

He was arrested from his house where he was living with his wife and two children. Mr Savad was produced before the NIA special court on Wednesday and remanded to judicial custody till 24 January.

Professor Joseph said it was gratifying to hear that a criminal absconding for 13 years was nabbed. "I don’t benefit from him landing behind bars or walking free," he told The New Indian Express.

"Until the perpetrators of the crime, or those involved in the conspiracy, are brought to justice it will not curb their activities.

"I believe such incidents will repeat until the criminal minds behind the act are punished. The probe was scuttled before it reached the brains behind the attack."