AT least two successive explosions ripped through a crowded Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer convention at Kalamassery in Ernakulam on October 29 morning, killing three people and injuring 41 other worshippers.
The police identified one of the deceased as 53-year-old Kumari from Thodupuzha. The other victim remained unidentified. In the early hours of Monday, a 12-year-old girl from Malayattoor, who was hospitalised with 90% burn injuries, succumbed, taking the death toll in the blast to three.
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The police have detained Kochi resident Dominic Martin, a “disenchanted” member of the religious group, as a suspect in the case. They have booked him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, paving the way for a possible National Investigation Agency probe.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan indicated that the death toll might climb, given the severe nature of burn and shrapnel injuries sustained by five attendees. He said 17 of the injured were in intensive care units.
The images of the explosion’s destructive aftermath played cyclically across television channels, creating a sense of shock, anguish, fear, and anger that pervaded Kerala society.
Mr. Vijayan has called an all-party meeting on October 30 to mitigate the fraught social climate precipitated by the bombing. He also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah before leaving New Delhi, where he was attending a party meeting, for Kerala.
At a hastily convened press conference on his arrival in Kerala, Mr. Vijayan slammed a Union Minister for allegedly vitiating the communal atmosphere by posting an incendiary message on a social media platform. He did not name the individual, but indicated that the Minister faced police prosecution and legal jeopardy.
The blasts occurred at 9:38 a.m., when an estimated 2,000 people had assembled for the prayer meeting, primarily families with women and children. The Hindu
