I have already forgiven them, says Joseph

Retired Professor T J Joseph today reacted philosophically to the NIA court verdict convicting 13 people involved in chopping off his hand, saying he had already forgiven them.
Reacting to the verdict, he said: "I have already forgiven the people who attacked me... It is not going to affect me any way," Joseph told reporters after releasing a book penned by him here.
Joseph said he had been undergoing misery and pain ever since the administration arrested him for preparing a question paper for B.Com semester exam at Newman College in Thodupuzha.
According to him, the administration's action and sensational media reports about the question paper were reasons for his right hand being chopped off by some fundamentalists in July 2010 when he was returning home after attending mass in a church at Muvattupuzha.

Joseph, head of the Malayalam department in the college, was suspended from service following the controversy over framing of the question paper which allegedly had derogatory religious remarks.
His family went through tough times after he became jobless. His wife Salomi, who stood by Joseph during his trying times, ended her life last year as the family was facing severe financial problems.
Within days of her death, the college took him back before his retirement on March 31 last year.