THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed significant reports about Savad, the prime accused in the case of Prof. TJ Joseph’s hand-chopping case. On January 10, 2024, the NIA arrested the religious extremist and activist of the banned terrorist group Popular Front of India, Savad from Mattannur, Kannur. He was arrested 13 years after the crime.
Savad was living in disguise, under a false name, ‘Shajahan’, in a rented house in Mattannur with his wife, Khadija, and two children,
After Savad’s arrest, his wife Khadija told the NIA that she was unaware of Savad’s involvement in the case, when they got married. It is also reported that, Khadija testified that her marriage with Savad happened upon her father, Abdul Rahman’s insistence, though other relatives were against it.
Savad’s father-in-law Abdul Rahman is an active member of SDPI.
As a result, the NIA is also investigating whether Abdul Rahman had any connection to the hand-chopping case and if he was protecting Savad from the investigation team. NIA found that some leaders of the PFI helped Savad to get married. Abdul Rahman stated that he first met Savad only when Savad approached him with a marriage proposal, claiming to be an orphan and using the name ‘Shajahan.’
Savad married one of Abdul Rahman’s four daughters in 2016. One month after the marriage, Savad moved to Valapattanam, Kannur district, from Kasargod. There Savad initially worked at a fruit shop with the help of some PFI activists. One year after, Savad started working with carpenters with the assistance of PFI activists. Later, he moved to Vilakkode in Kannur district.
The NIA reports that Savad frequently changed his residence with the support of PFI leaders.
According to police records, Prof. TJ Joseph, the former Head of the Malayalam Department at Newman College in Thodupuzha, was assaulted for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad in an internal examination question paper he set, for the B Com Second Semester examination at Newman College, Thodupuzha. On July 4, 2010, as the professor and his family were on their way to church on a Sunday, members of the Popular Front severed his right hand and stabbed him in the left leg in front of his family. This incident had sparked extensive discussions regarding Muslim terrorism in Kerala.
Initially, the Kerala Police handled the investigation, but it was later taken over by the NIA on March 9, 2011. Considering the seriousness of the crime, the NIA after taking over the case from the Kerala Police, charged the accused with acts of terrorism and invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against them.
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