Manas Dasgupta
NEW Delhi, Oct 29: A nation-wide high alert has been issued after one woman was killed and about 50 others injured in a series of blasts at a convention centre at Kalamassery near Kochi in Kerala on Sunday morning. The woman, who died of burns, has not been identified yet.
At least three blasts were reported within minutes after the prayer meeting started during a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention at the centre in Kalamassery, about 10 kilometres from Kochi.
Hours after the blasts, a 48-year-old man claimed responsibility and has surrendered. The suspect, Dominic Martin, has claimed that he belongs to the same Christian denomination that organised the prayer meet and the police said it was investigative the motives behind causing the blasts.
The meet today was attended by nearly 2,000 people. People who were present at the convention centre told the media that the first blast occurred in the middle of a prayer. Officials said explosives had been placed inside a tiffin box.
An eye witness, who is a delegate from nearby Kolencherry, said he was right at the back of the stage from where the prayers were being led. He said those at the back of the hall could get the smell of burning plastic initially before a deafening sound rent the air. This was followed by a column of smoke and fire bellowing out of a spot close to the place from where the sound system was being controlled. Soon there were two more blasts, which triggered panic among those gathered and they began to rush out of the hall.
By this time, smoke had enveloped most of the hall, the smoke being thicker in the middle of the hall. Some of the others inside the hall, who were shaken by the blasts, felt that the blast had taken place in the middle of the hall and not behind.
Earlier in the day, Additional District Magistrate, Ernakulam and local government body representatives arrived at the site. Police arrived on the scene immediately after the blasts and sealed off the exit from the hall, preventing vehicles from leaving the premises. People inside the hall were allowed to move to a more open space even as their vehicles were held back for detailed checks. Those who came to attend the prayer meeting included old people and children.
Kalamassery MP Hibi Eden said the first explosion occurred in the centre of the hall. He added that the group had an evacuation plan which kicked into action immediately after the first blast. “Luckily, they had an evacuation plan. Every time the group meets, they discuss and prepare an evacuation plan. But there was a lot of smoke, which led to a stampede,” Mr Eden said.
Police said 45 injured persons were undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the district, of which 18 people are in the ICU. Five people injured in the blast are in a critical condition.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the blasts.
Mr Vijayan termed the blasts as ‘unfortunate’ and said the situation was being viewed seriously. All senior police officials in the state are on their way to the blast site. The blasts will now be probed by the National Investigation Agency, which specialises in counter-terrorism operations. The agency’s forensic team has already reached the spot and is collecting evidence.
Visuals of the incident showed fire rescue and police personnel in large numbers evacuating people from the site, which has now been cordoned off. Disturbing videos from inside the convention centre showed multiple fires inside the hall as people and children were heard screaming in fear.
The video also showed some people trying to quell the fires as the hall was littered with scattered and damaged chairs. Hundreds of people were seen outside the convention centre post the explosion. Kerala Health Minister Veena George has directed all healthcare workers to report for duty in the wake of the blast. Security has been tightened in the national capital and Mumbai following the serial blasts.
The police said the first blast took place one at 9.47 am. Sunday was the last day of the three-day meeting, which started on October 27. Police said those injured were undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the district, of which five people are in critical condition.
Improvised Explosive Device was used in the attack, said Kerala Police, adding a special investigation team will be constituted to probe the case. The explosives were kept in a tiffin box, said sources. The anti-terror agency NIA is probing the case. A team of the National Security Guard is also on its way. Security was increased around churches and at metro stations in the national capital in the wake of the Kerala convention centre blasts.
The prayer meeting at the Zamra International Convention Centre was organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses, a restorationist Christian denomination, which has a growing number of followers in Kerala. The injured, including a child, have been admitted to a private hospital near the blast site. The condition of five of them are reported to be serious. All of them have sustained burn injuries, according to initial reports.
The Kalamassery police, citing reports that had come in so far, said that the injured persons were immediately shifted to the hospital while the body of the woman who died was taken to the Government Medical College, close to the convention centre where the blast took place.
An aspect of the police probe had pivoted towards the inner workings of the almost cult-like religious organisation with a significant presence in Kerala. At the same time, the police were pursuing other trails, including a car that suspiciously left the locality moments before the explosion and radical organisations inimical to international evangelical organisations that back Israel’s political line against Palestine.
Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M. R. Ajith Kumar, told reporters the investigators were verifying the integrity of the suspect’s claim. Mr Vijayan has convened an all-party meeting at the state capital city of Thiruvananthapuram on Monday in the Chief Minister’s conference hall in the Secretariat complex.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan, accompanied by Congress MLAs and MPs from the region, visited the Govt Medical College in Ernakulam to check on those admitted there with injuries sustained in the blast and stampede at the convention centre.