Kerala blasts: Man arrested after deadly attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Victims receive medical treatment at the Government Medical College hospital in Ernakulam after a series of explosion took place during a Jehovah Witnesses meeting at a convention centre in Kalamassery near the port city of Kochi on October 29, 2023. A suspected bomb blast during a Christian prayer meeting in India's southern state of Kerala killed one person and wounded 36 others, police said on October 29. (Photo by Arun CHANDRABOSE / AFP) (Photo by ARUN CHANDRABOSE/AFP via Getty Images)Getty Images

Police in India have arrested a man in connection with a series of explosions at a Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in the southern state of Kerala.

Three people were killed and more than 50 injured in the blasts at a programme held by the Christian-based religious movement on Sunday.

Police said the man, Dominic Martin, was arrested under an anti-terror law.

He had earlier posted a video claiming responsibility for the attacks and surrendered to police.

The blasts took place during the last day of a prayer session organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Kalamassery, about 10km (six miles) north-east of the port city of Kochi (Cochin). More than 2,000 people were attending the three-day event.

Two women who attended the meeting died on Sunday, while a 12-year-old girl with 95% burns succumbed to her injuries on Monday.

Hours after the explosions, Mr Martin posted a video on Facebook claiming to be a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who planned the blasts because he was angry with the group’s teachings. But a spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses told Reuters that Mr Martin was “not a registered member”.

Police said Mr Martin was from Kerala state and had worked in Dubai earlier.

“We are convinced that he committed the crime based on his confession and corroborating pieces of evidence we collected,” Kochi city police commissioner A Akbar said on Monday.

Mr Akbar said Mr Martin was cooperating with the police.

Kerala map

The blasts sent shockwaves across the country, and security was stepped up in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities.

On Monday, a senior police official said a preliminary investigation indicated that an improvised explosive device (IED) placed inside a tiffin box might have caused the blasts.

But Mr Akbar, who spoke to reporters later, declined to disclose details about the nature of the explosives.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses is a religious movement which believes that traditional Christian churches have deviated from the actual teachings of the Bible and Armageddon is imminent.

The group, which claims to have about 8.7 million followers worldwide and some 60,000 in India, has a strong presence in Kerala and is known for door-to-door evangelism in the state.

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