Kochi: Key accused in the palm chopping case Savad was arrested by NIA from Kannur late last night, media reports said.
Savad was working as a carpenter and living in a rented house in Kannur, the reports said.
Member of the banned PFI, who was at large since 2010, has been brought to Kochi where he will be produced before the NIA court.
A group of PFI activists had chopped off the wrist and inflicted serious injuries on Joseph, a Malayalam faculty in Newman College, Thodupuzha, in Idukki near Kochi, in the name of blasphemy on July 4, 2010.
The attack was carried out by an eight-member team led by Savad.
Adding insult to injury was Joseph losing his job due to action taken by the church-run institution. Joseph challenged the management decision in court which acquitted him on November 15, 2013, of all charges.
The National Investigation Agency court, which tried 31 accused, convicted 13 accused and acquitted 18 others due to insufficient evidence in 2015, the reports said.
Palm chopping accused Savad held
