Explosive devices kill three Jehovah's Witnesses in India’s Kerala state

The attack yesterday morning also wounded scores of people, with some having life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, the police arrested the alleged perpetrator, who took responsibility for the attack on a Facebook video. He says he is a former member, but Jehovah's Witnesses deny the claim.

Kerala, India (AsiaNews) – Indian authorities report that a man claiming to be a former Jehovah's Witness (which the community denies) was arrested on suspicion of setting off three bombs yesterday morning that killed three people and injured 50, four of them seriously, at a meeting in southern India.

The first blast took place in the middle of the hall. Seconds later, two more explosions simultaneously rocked either side of the hall at the end of the prayer session.

The incident took place in Kalamassery, a town north of Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala.

After the attack, Dominic Martin, the perpetrator, posted a video on Facebook claiming responsibility for the blasts, before surrendering at a police station Thrissur, about 40 km from the scene of the explosions.

"I am taking full responsibility for this. I carried out the bomb explosion. I am making this video to make it clear why I did this," Martin said in the video.

In it he goes on to say that Jehovah's Witnesses' teachings are "antinational" and that he had tried to talk to the group about changing their views.

The suspect “is still being questioned in Kochi. He is in our custody but we have not recorded his arrest so far," Police Public Relations Officer Pramod Kumar said.

"We are still trying to ascertain the veracity of his statement; it will take some time. We are not in a position to confirm his involvement in the case right now; the investigation is ongoing," Officer Kumar added.

Meanwhile, TA Sreekumar, a regional spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses, said that Dominic Martin was never a registered member of the group. He also explained that about 2,300 people were present at the Sunday event.

Preliminary results suggest that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were used, Kerala Director of General Police Shaik Darvesh Saheb said.

In total, there are about 60,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in India.

Photo: Sivaram V for Reuters.

• india
• kerala
• jehovah’s witnesses
• blasts
• deaths
• wounded