'My life has been full of suffering for the last five years,' Professor T J Joseph, whose hand was hacked by Islamists in a brutal attack, tells A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
A special National Investigative Agency court convicted 13 men on April 30 for the brutal attack on Kerala college Professor T J Joseph on July 4, 2010 in which he lost his arm. Eighteen others were acquitted in the case.
The accused owed allegiance to the Popular Front of India. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on May 5.
The court said the accused chopped off Professor Joseph's right palm because they were angry with him for hurting their religious sentiments while setting a question paper for an internal exam at the Newman College, Thodupuzha, Idukki district where he was working.
The professor had been arrested then, but was later acquitted by a court. He was suspended by his college, but was later reinstated by the court. He re-joined the college on the day he was supposed to retire on March, 31, 2014.
He also lost his wife in that period. She committed suicide.
After the judgment, Professor Joseph told Rediff.com over the telephone, "I know that 13 people have been convicted and 18 have been acquitted for lack of evidence. I am not bothered about the verdict. I have already pardoned them."
The professor said this was a case for the law, and the law had dealt with them. "The case has been out of my mind for a long time. I have forgiven them," he repeated.
Talking about his life in the last five years he said, "My life has been full of suffering for the last five years."
Though his palm was re-attached to his hand he said, "I cannot write or eat with my right hand."
The professor is writing his autobiography. He has written half of it and will complete it in the next six months.
The controversy of the exam paper he had set and the incidents that followed are the main parts of his memoir. "I am writing with my left hand in Malayalam," he said.
Image: Two of the accused in court.
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