India: Man who claimed responsibility for Kerala blasts arrested by police, UAPA invoked
Kerala blasts
Dominic Martin, the man who claimed responsibility for the deadly blasts in the Indian state of Kerala at the Jehovah’s Witnesses Convention in Kochi was arrested earlier on Monday (Oct 30). This comes a day after the 57-year-old former English teacher said that he was behind the blast that killed three people and injured dozens of others.
The Kerala Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) formally arrested Martin under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as the Explosives Substances Act and charges of murder.
Kochi Police Commissioner A Akbar, as per reports, said that the 57-year-old was arrested after a detailed questioning and that the investigation team has reasonable doubts to believe that he is the one who committed the crime.
What are the charges against the accused?
According to Kerala’s Director General of Police, the blasts took place due to an improvised explosive device (IED). Hours after the incident, Martin, who had surrendered, released a video of himself on Facebook in which he can be heard spewing hatred against a community.
He also claimed that the community teaches “anti-national ideas to children,” and that it spreads “hatred” while citing unverified claims related to the preaching conventions of the community. The blasts occurred during the convention of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian religious group that originated in the United States in the 19th century.
The Kochi police commissioner said Martin has been charged with Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, and Section 16 of UAPA.
‘Detailed questioning’
The 57-year-old’s arrest came after hours of questioning by the state police and other law enforcement agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The police also said that the initial probe indicates that Martin acted alone to gather the materials, build the IED bomb, planting and detonating them when the group had gathered for the final day of a three-day-long prayer meeting.
“The accused was questioned in detail. Apart from that, other evidence was also collected by the investigation team. Based on that, the team has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed the crime,” a SIT officialtold reporters.
He added, "Whether there was any assistance rendered by anybody or if there were any other person involved, all these will be subjected to a detailed investigation."
The suspect is expected to be presented before a court on Tuesday (Oct 31) while the investigation team may collect more evidence, including if there was another person involved in the blasts and probe if there are other reasons for Martin’s anger towards the Jehovah’s Witnesses community.
(With inputs from agencies)
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