Sensational Prof Joseph hand-chopping case: Life term for three, 3 yrs for other three
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Prof Joseph's story is different! On July 4, 2010, he was pulled out of his
vehicle by armed PFI activists and his right hand was chopped off for allegedly
insulting the Prophet in a question paper he had set. He was also arrested by
the Government following protests over his blasphemy. And later his college run
by the church sacked him, the sole breadwinner of the family. Consequently, unable to bear the penury, his wife Salomy ended her life. Further, when the day he was to retire
he was reinstated, adding insult to injury. Yet today he says he has no animus
towards the Islamic terrorists!
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KOCHI, July 13: The court has announced the sentence in the sensational case
of chopping off the hand of a college teacher, Prof TJ Joseph, in Kerala in 2010.
The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Kochi on Thursday
awarded the life sentence to three convicts and three others received a jail
term of three years each. The accused belong to the now-banned Popular Front
of India (PFI).
Sajil, MK Nasar and KA Najeeb received the life imprisonment.
The court had convicted Sajil Makkar, MK Nazer, KA Najeeb, MK Noushad, P P
Moideen Kunju and PM Ayoob on Wednesday for offences under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA), Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act
in the second phase of the trial. It acquitted five others - Shafeeq, Azeez
Odakkali, Mohammed Rafi, Manzoor and T P Subair. While Sajil was convicted for
his part in the attack, Nasar and Najeeb were convicted of planning the "terrorist
act".
THE STORY SO FAR: The attack took place on July 4, 2010 when Prof TJ
Joseph was returning home with his family after attending Sunday mass at a church
in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district.
Prof Joseph, who was working at Newman College in Thodupuzha, in Idukki district,
was pulled out of his vehicle and attacked by armed PFI supporters and his right
hand was chopped off for allegedly insulting the Prophet in a question paper
set by him for a BCom semester exam. His palm was later sutured back at a hospital
in Kochi. The attackers were a group of seven people. The main accused Savad
who is still absconding committed the heinous act.
The controversial exam was held in March and later it led to protests by Muslim
outfits in the State. Joseph was arrested and later granted bail.
In a parallel development, the Catholic management of Newman College suspended
Prof Joseph from service. There was demand from all sections that Joseph be
reinstated but the Catholic Church did not budge. On March 20, 2014, Joseph’s
wife Salomy committed suicide, allegedly due to financial problems as Prof Joseph
was the only working member of the family. Prof Joseph had reportedly said that
the Church’s action had pained him more than the PFI attack. With Salomy’s death
yet again revived a wave of protests against the Church following which Prof
Joseph was reinstated on March 31, 2014. But that was his day of retirement.
NOW WHAT!: Now on the verdict what does Prof Joseph has to say? He reportedly
said that he does not believe conviction of an accused means deliverance of
justice to the victim.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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