An eight-member gang on Sunday morning attacked and chopped off the palm of Prof T.J. Joseph, a college lecturer under suspension for preparing a question paper which had comments hurting religious sentiments.
The police later arrested four persons allegedly belonging to a Muslim fundamentalist outfit in connection with the incident. They are being questioned.
Prof Joseph, 52, a Malayalam lecturer of Newman College of Thodupuzha, was attacked at 8.30 am when he was coming home after Sunday mass in a church at Moovattupuzha with his sister and mother.
According to his sister, Stella Mary, a nun, a gang travelling in an Omni van blocked their car and dragged out Mr Joseph. “They threw bombs and scared away people and then attacked him with axes,” she said. “They cut off his palm and also hacked him on his thighs.”
The gang took away the severed palm of the lecturer and threw it into the courtyard of a nearby house before speeding away. A police team later recovered it later.
Prof Joseph was rushed to a private hospital where doctors performed a 10-hour-long surgery to rejoin his palm with his wrist. His condition is reported to be serious.
The home minister, Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, said the police will investigate whether any terror groups were involved in the attack.
It was in March this year that Prof Joseph was suspended for preparing the controversial question paper for the B-Com exam in the college. He had been arrested by the police and released on bail. According to his sister, he had been receiving death threats from anonymous groups ever since.