A day after multiple blasts rocked Southern Coastal
State Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened an all-party meeting at Conference
Hall in the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
IUML leader PK Kunjalikutty, Congress leader VT
Belram, NCP leader PC Chacko, JDS leader Mathew T Thomas, Kerala Congress
leader Monce Joseph, CPI leader P Sudheer, BJP leader C Krishna Kumar and
ministers K Rajan, Roshi Augustin, Antony Raju, AK Sasindran, Kadannapally
Ramachandran, CPI (M) State secretary MV Govindan and Opposition leader VD
Satheesan are among those who attended the meeting.
Multiple explosions took place at a prayer meeting of
Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Kalamassery area of Kochi district at around 9:00 in
the morning on Sunday.
Media reports citing sources claimed it to be a terror
attack, mainly the serial blasts. Bomb squad, forensic team and a team of NIA
rushed to the spot immediately.
Dominic Martin, who claims to be a member of Jehovah’s
Witnesses and former evangelist, has surrendered at the Kodakara police station
in Thrissur, claiming responsibility for a series of blasts.
“One person has surrendered in Kodakra Police Station,
in Thrissur Rural, claiming that he has done it. His name is Dominic Martin and
he claims that he belonged to the same group of sabha. We are verifying it. We
are looking into all aspects of this case… The blast took place in the
central part of the hall,” informed Kerala ADGP (Law and Order) MR Ajith Kumar on
the blast at Zamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Kalamassery.
Martin alleged that he took the decision as the
teachings of the organisation were “seditious”.
Reportedly, he further accused the organisation and
its ideology of being dangerous for the nation and therefore, it had to be put
to an end in the State.
Martin had urged the organisation many times to
correct its teachings, but it was not ready to do so, he claimed adding, “As I
had no other option, I took this decision.”
The police, however, said that they have yet to verify
Martin’s claims.
According to police, preliminary investigation
suggests that IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) were used to trigger the
blasts.
Following the incidents, which killed three people, CM
Vijayan announced a 20-member probe team to investigate the matter.
A 12-year-old girl succumbed to burn injuries this
morning and four people are in critical condition in hospital. More than 50
people were injured in the incidents
NE Watch Desk
