2 killed, 51 wounded in IED blasts at religious convention in Kerala

Police said they have collected prima facie evidence to link the suspect, identified as Dominic Martin from Kochi, to the blasts.

Minutes after the blasts in the morning, Dominic, who is in his 50s, uploaded a video on social media, claiming responsibility. In the video, he said the ideology of Jehovah’s Witnesses was “anti-national”, and that he wanted to put an end to it. A spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses confirmed that Dominic was a member of the community.

Dominic, who surrendered at Kodakara police station in Thrissur, around 40 km from Kalamassery, was brought to Kochi for interrogation.

With origins in the US, the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not part of the mainstream Christian churches. Members of the Christian denomination are known for conducting door-to-door evangelism. In India, they hit the headlines in 1986 when a family from the community in Kerala won a verdict in the Supreme Court, upholding their right not to sing the national anthem. For members of the community, only Jehovah should be worshiped.

The first blast among the many explosions occurred around 9.30 am minutes after the day’s prayer session began. (Special arrangement)

Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses said there were at least two back-to-back blasts at the same spot at Zamra International Convention Centre in Kalamassery, where around 2,300 members of Jehovah’s Witnesses had gathered on the concluding day of a three-day convention. The gathering included a large number of women and children, mainly from Ernakulam district.

The first blast took place around 9.35 am, minutes after the day’s session began and the participants started praying, in the middle of the convention hall. This was followed by another blast at the same spot, said eyewitnesses.

Screaming and navigating through burning chairs, panic-stricken people rushed out of the hall. Local police and fire and rescue workers, who reached the spot, brought the situation under control after sealing the convention centre, which has a capacity for 3,500 people.

Senior police officials have rushed to the spot and put the entire force on alert across Kerala. (Special arrangement)

While the body of an unidentified woman was recovered from the hall, another woman, identified as Kumari (53), a native of Thodupuzha, died of her injuries at the hospital later in the evening. The condition of five more people, including a 12-year-old boy, was stated to be critical.

While 10 of the wounded received treatment for minor injuries, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 41 people were undergoing treatment at government and private hospitals in Kochi.

After the blasts, a high alert was sounded across the state and police warned against hate campaigns on social media. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Chief minister and took stock of the situation in the state. He also directed the National Investigation Agency and NSG to reach the spot and start investigations.

Considering it to be an act of terrorism, the police registered a case invoking Section 16 (1) of UAPA Act, apart from IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (murder attempt). The FIR, registered before Domnic’s surrender, did not name anyone.

ADGP (law and order) M R Ajith Kumar, who visited the convention centre, said an improvised explosive device (IED) was used for the blasts. The police were looking into all angles, he said.

Kerala Revenue Minister Rajan, Cooperation minister VN Vasavan, Transport Minister Antony Raju, Kochi Muncipal Corporation Mayor Anilkumar visiting the injured at Govt Medical College, Ernakulam. (Source: PRD, Kerala)

“A person named Dominic Martin has surrendered before police claiming responsibility for the blasts. He is a member of JW and we have collected evidence prima facie substantiating his claim,” he said.

Police sources said Dominic placed the explosives at the convention centre in the morning and triggered the blast using a remote control from outside the hall. Later, he rode his two-wheeler to Kodakara police station, where he confessed to the crime.

“His mobile phone had videos related to triggering blasts and he showed them to police to support his claim. Dominic claimed he learnt IED making from social media and his recent internet searches have also pointed towards that,” a source said.

A video was recovered from Dominic’s Facebook account, which he uploaded after the blast. In the video, he said, “I take the responsibility for the blast. I am posting this video to convince you why I have done it.”

“I have been a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses for the past 16 years. I was not very serious about my faith. I realised that their stand is anti-national and wanted them to rectify it. But they were not ready for it. I could understand this is a wrong ideology,” he said.

“They inject poison into the minds of children that they should not take even sweets from others. They are asked not to sing the national anthem and join the defence service. They teach that all 850-crore people of the world would perish and only they will live… I took the decision realising that this idea is dangerous to the country,” Dominic said.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses, your ideology is wrong. You should help others and respect others. During the floods, you cleaned only the houses of your members. This wrong ideology should and should be put to an end…,’’ he said. “I am convinced that in our society we don’t require this organisation.”

“Secondly, I am going to surrender. Thirdly, you should not reveal how this blast was done. It is dangerous if the method reaches ordinary people. So, no media should telecast its method,” Dominic said towards the end.

The video was later removed from social media.

Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesperson Sreekumar admitted that Dominic was a member of the community but had not been associated with it recently.

“In the last two days, the convention was attended by 2,100 people. On Sunday, we think the figure would be between 2,300 and 2,400. The blasts took place soon after the session started. We had not closed the doors as people were still entering the hall. That helped people to rush out of the hall, bringing down the casualty. Evacuation plans had been explained to the participants three times a day during the convention,’’ he said.

Chief Minister Vijayan, who termed the incident as unfortunate, called an all-party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

Inputs from ENS, New Delhi