Vinod, the accused in the attack against Assistant Professor Jayachandran K. of National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) was remanded in judicial custody on Saturday. He was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in the morning after he was arrested by the Kunnamangalam police on Friday. He has been charged with Sections 450 (house trespass in order to commit offence), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon or means), 332 (voluntarily causing harm in order to deter a public worker from doing his duties), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jayachandran is recuperating at a private hospital. In his statement to the police, he has verified the claims made by the accused regarding the motive behind the attack. Vinod reportedly told the police that he was Mr. Jayachandran’s PhD batchmate under the same guide at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) and was currently an Assistant Professor in an engineering college in Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Jayachandran had helped him while he had a cardiac arrest a while ago, but was reportedly withholding some of the medical certificates that Vinod needed to submit to his employers. Vinod reportedly came to Kozhikode to get hold of the certificates.
Sources said that Vinod entered the NIT-C campus pretending to be a student and intimidated Mr. Jayachandran in the latter’s office. Amidst the altercation, Vinod reportedly used a pocket knife found on the table to stab Mr. Jayachandran on the neck and stomach. The security personnel of the institute forced them apart and took Mr. Jayachandran to the hospital while handing over Vinod to the police. The two are natives of Salem in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Jayachandran joined NIT-C as an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering in 2020.
