The number of casualties in the Kerala serial blasts have gone up, the latest official records show. The death toll now stands at three with the demise of a 12-year-old pre-teen girl, who was undergoing treatment for blast-related grievous injuries, officials say. The explosions took place at a convention center near Kochi, during a Sunday prayer meeting of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian religious group with roots tracing back to the 19th century in the United States. The four-member team of the National Investigation Agency, which reached Kochi on Sunday evening has taken over the serial explosion probe. Around 50 people suffered injuries in the blast and are undergoing treatment, latest reports say. As the local police and the NIA probe the Sunday serial blasts, here are the latest updates from Kalamassery:
1: Dominic Martin, a man claiming to be a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, has surrendered to the police in Kerala’s Thrissur. Before surrendering to the police, Martin went live on his Facebook account and said that he had carried out the serial blasts as he had ‘no option’.
2: In his Facebook live, the 48-year-old said that he took the decision as he was unhappy with the ‘anti-national’ teachings of the minority Christian group. He also said that Jehovah’s Witnesses was poisoning young minds. However, the group has not made any comment regarding Martin’s accusations. There were also reports that a man, who also claimed to member of Jehovah’s Witnesses said during a TV interview that there was no such member with the name Dominic Martin associated with the group currently.
3: Some reports say that Martin had returned from Dubai just two months ago. He was working as an electrician for past 15 years in Dubai.
4: The Kerala Police has formed a 20-member team to probe the blast. The agencies are investigating as many as 70 CCTV clips to look for leads in the case. There are also reports of a blue car that was spotted in one of the CCTV footages shortly before the blasts.
5: According to an official within the police department who spoke to PTI, there were three explosions in total, with two being of significant strength, while the third was of a lower intensity. The official also stressed the importance of maintaining peace and remaining composed, while urging the public to refrain from disseminating any incendiary or malicious content on social media. He issued a stern warning that sharing such content on social platforms would lead to severe repercussions.