BJP will get 10 seats in Kerala: Nalin Kumar Kateel
Mangaluru (PTI): The BJP, which opened its account in the Kerala assembly in 2016 with one seat, will get at least 10 seats in the House this time, party's Karnataka president Nalin Kumar Kateel MP said on Tuesday.
The polling for the assembly elections in Kerala, which has 140 assembly seats, began at 7 am Tuesday.
Addressing reporters at Puttur, Kateel expressed confidence that the party will score victories in Manjeshwar and Kasaragod assembly segments.
BJP Kerala state president K Surendran is the party candidate from Manjeshwar. The BJP will also win eight other seats in other districts including its sitting seat of Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram district, he said.
Kateel, who was involved in the campaign for the polls, said the BJP has grown popular among women and youth in Kerala. People have lost faith in the CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF, he claimed.
He said the believers have turned against the LDF after its adamant stand against the age-old customs at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. The people will also register their protest against the 'murder politics' of CPI-M, he added.
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NIA court to complete framing of charges against 2010 hand-chopping case accused on May 15
Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
