Muvattupuzha, Kerala: Two men were arrested on Monday in connection with the attack on a college lecturer, who is currently on bail for allegedly preparing a inflammatory question paper, in which the victim's palm was chopped off.
T J Joseph, 52, was returning home with his family after attending morning prayers at a church when a group of people in a van pulled him out of his car. Joseph's right palm was chopped off and thrown some 200 meters away, police said.
He also suffered deep cuts on the body and was rushed to a specialty hospital at Kochi for a surgery to reattach the severed palm.
Joseph is on bail after being arrested by the police in April for preparing a question paper with alleged inflammatory references to Prophet Mohammed for an exam in a private college.
Joseph, a Malayalam teacher, was suspended by Thodupuzha New Man College after angry protest marches by Muslim organisations.
Jaffar, a resident of Kothamangalam and Ashraff, of Mekalady, have taken into custody for the attack, police said on Monday. Ashraff is reportedly an activist of the Popular Front, a fundamentalist Muslim outfit.
A horrified Mary Stella, Joseph's sister, said: "They (accused) smashed the glass of our car and pulled my brother out and hacked him. Our aged mother was also in the car and witnessed the crime."
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the state assembly the government would not allow "Taliban-type" attacks and asked all political parties to unite and isolate forces responsible for the "barbaric" attack.
He said the government would verify if police had failed to protect Joseph.
Supreme head of the Indian Union Muslim League, Panakad Hyderali Shiyab Thangal said that one wrong cannot be corrected by another wrong. "Whoever are the culprits, tough action should be taken against them," Thangal said.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)
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