An explosion occurred during a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Indian city of Kalamassery, killing three people and injuring dozens. Indian services are interrogating a man who confessed to carrying out the attack. He claims that he was a member of this religious group in the past, and his testimony is currently being verified by the police.
The explosion occurred on Sunday during a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the convention center in the southwestern city of Kalamassery. India state of Kerala. About 2,300 people took part in the three-day convention.
Initially, it was reported that two women died as a result of the explosion and several dozen people were injured, including five in a critical condition. On Monday, Indian media reported the third death, a 12-year-old girl who died in hospital. She was taken to hospital with 95% burns. body.
The explosion occurred during a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Indian state of KeralaSIVARAM V/Reuters/Forum
Attack at a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses
“Preliminary investigation revealed that a homemade explosive device exploded in the crowd during the last day of the rally,” Kerala state police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb told reporters. The spokesman for the local community of Jehovah’s Witnesses, TA Sreekumar, told Reuters that there were three strong explosions in the convention center, which “occurred a few seconds after the end of the prayer.”
– The first explosion took place in the middle of the hall. A few seconds later, two more explosions rang out simultaneously on both sides of the hall, he explained to the local portal Mathrubhumi. Information about the three explosions was also reported by the news agency The Press Trust of India (TPI).
He confessed to the attack on the recording
After the explosions at the convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery, a man named Dominic Martin published a video on social media in which he admitted carrying out the attack. In the nearly six-minute recording, the man claimed that he had been a member of this religious group in the past, but about six years ago he “tried to talk to the community about changing their views” because he considered the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be “anti-national.”
The recording disappeared from his profile after about four hours, and Martin surrendered to the police at a police station in the Triśur district, about 40 kilometers from the site of the explosion. Police spokesman Pramod Kumar told Reuters the man had been detained and was being questioned. – We are still trying to determine the truthfulness of his testimony, it will take some time. We are currently unable to confirm his involvement in the case, the investigation is ongoing, he said.
TA Sreekumar said that Martin, who claimed to be the attacker, is not currently a member of the community. It is not known whether he was among the participants of the convention on Sunday.
Jehovah’s Witnesses in India
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a religious organization founded in 1870 in the United States. This association is known for its great evangelistic activity. In 2022, it had approximately 8.5 million members worldwide. According to Indian representatives of the community, there are approximately 60,000 members of the community in India. people.
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Reuters, India Today, tvn24.pl
Main photo source: SIVARAM V/Reuters/Forum