At least three persons were killed and over 40 injured after multiple blasts during a Christian prayer meeting in Kerala’s Ernakulam district on Sunday. Among the victims are a woman and a 12-year-old girl.
The blasts took place at an international convention centre in Kalamassery, where hundreds of followers of the minority Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses had assembled on the concluding day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.
A few hours after the incident, a man claiming to be a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before police in Thrissur district of the state, saying that he carried out the multiple blasts.
Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC as well as provisions of the Explosives Act and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called an all-party meeting at 10 am on Monday (October 30).
Kerala Blasts: What We Know
- Vijayan slammed senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar for his social media posts criticising him over the blast, saying it was part of his communal stand. Without naming Chandrasekhar, he, during a press conference here, sought to know based on what information the union minister made such remarks against him and how a person holding a responsible position could come out with such statements while the investigation was going on.
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that a special 20-member team will probe the blast that took place at a convention centre in Kalamassery.
- An eight-member NSG team, including an officer, reached Kalamassery to probe the blast.
- A man named Dominic Martin approached Kodakra Police taking responsibility for the serial explosions. Earlier he put up a video message on a social media platform claiming responsibility for the multiple blasts in Kalamassery. In the clip, the man alleged that he took the decision as the teachings of the organisation were “seditious.” Martin claimed that the centre was allegedly preaching anti-national ideas.
- ADGP (law and order) Ajith Kumar said that his team was verifying Dominic Martin’s claims adding that his psychiatric conditions are also being monitored. He said that all aspects of the case would be thoroughly probed.
- Kerala DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb said the blast at the convention centre was caused due to an improvised explosive device (IED). He said that according to the preliminary probe, the blast occurred due to an IED.
- The Kerala DGP said that the policemen are examining all the angles. “We will find out who is behind this and will take stringent action against them,” the top police official said.
- The Kerala DGP said a “tiffin box” is suspected to have been used to store the IED.
- Many eyewitnesses have recounted seeing a “fireball” when the blast occurred. A senior woman said, “When I opened my eyes after hearing the first blast, all I saw was a fireball in front of me. Nothing… nothing more… just a fireball. Everybody ran scattered here and there. It was a sprawling hall, and a large number of people were inside.”
- The crowd at the venue had a number of senior citizens, who said everyone had their eyes closed in prayer when the explosion happened. A man in his 70s said the prayer convention was densely populated. “I was standing at the side of the hall, praying with my eyes closed. Suddenly, a shocking blast was heard from nearby. I saw only fire around and ran to the door along with others,” he said.
- Sources said the Jehovah’s Witnesses group is an easy target for all because of their differences as they are a separate Christian group. The group does not identify as Protestants and their convention is an annual gathering where larger assemblies called ‘regional conventions’ take place for a period of three days or so (Friday to Sunday). These conventions primarily consist of Bible-based talks, dramatisations and videos of preaching work. The group originated in the US in the 19th century.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief minister and took stock of the situation. The chief minister briefed the home minister about the incident, a source said.
- Hospitals in Kerala have been put on alert and staff on leave have been asked to return to work.
- Security has also beefed up in Delhi, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh after the blast.
(With PTI inputs)