A key accused in the palm-chopping case in Thodupuzha surrendered before the NIA special court here on Wednesday.
Sajil, the fourth accused in the case relating to the attack on T.J. Joseph, then a teacher with the Newman College in Thodupuzha, had been absconding for six years. The incident occurred on July 4, 2010, when Mr. Joseph was returning home along with his family from church. The attack was in retaliation to Mr. Joseph ‘ridiculing’ Prophet Mohammed in a question paper he had prepared for B.Com. students of the college where he was teaching Malayalam.
A resident of Randarkara in Muvattupuzha, Sajil, 36, appeared with his counsel at the NIA court on Wednesday morning. He was seated inside the court to evade arrest. The counsel for the accused filed a petition when the court proceedings started. The court later sent him to judicial custody till August 23. Investigators suspect that Sajil may have escaped to Tamil Nadu after the incident and had lived in different parts of the country.
NIA sleuths said that the accused will be interrogated to get further leads in the sensational case. Sajil was the fourth accused in first charge sheet filed by the NIA. The charges were split during the trial of the case against the available accused two years ago. Savad, the first accused, remains to be arrested.
