Sawad, prime accused in hand chopping case arrested after 13 years

Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday has taken into custody from Kannur the key accused, Sawad, in the notorious hand chopping case

The agency extended an offer of 10 lakh Rupees to anyone who gives information about Sawad.

Sawad was on the run for the past 13 years, from the day he committed the crime.

Meanwhile, as NIA officials are tight-lipped about how and when the arrest happened, Sawad will be produced before an NIA court here later in the day.

Sawad is a resident of Ernakulam district and was the one who chopped Professor T.J. Joseph’s right hand in July 2010, with the help of others, all of them belonging to the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI) activists.

The incident took place when Joseph was returning home with his mother and sister from church.

The case was investigated by NIA and a special NIA court in 2015 had convicted 13 people owing allegiance to the PFI.

And last year as part of the supplementary charge sheet, the NIA court let off five and six were found accused.

Soon after Joseph’s hand was chopped off, the attackers told him that he was being punished for the alleged sacrilegious undertones of one of the questions he had framed in an exam at the college where he was teaching.

Reacting to the arrest of Sawad, Joseph said: "As an individual who suffered this, I have nothing to say, but as a citizen, it’s good that the law enforcing agencies have arrested the prime culprit."

“For the agencies, a liability of theirs has been wiped out, as he was on the run for long, but what about the conspirators behind this incident?” asked Joseph.

IANS with edits