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Calling the incident "shocking", Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) PC Chacko on late Monday said that Kerala which was rocked by multiple explosions on Sunday morning is, unlike other states famous for "communal harmony" and such incident" has never happened in Kerala."
After attending an all-party meeting called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan following the incident blasts, the NCP leader said while speaking to ANI, "Everybody today welcomed the all-party meeting called by the Chief Minister because the incident that happened in Ernakulam yesterday was a very shocking incident". "Something like this has never happened in Kerala. Kerala is famous for communal harmony. People are secular by and large, unlike several other states. Such thing was not expected in Kerala...," he added. Multiple explosions took place at a prayer meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Kalamassery area of Kochi at around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala on Monday convened an all-party meeting following the incident of blasts. The all-party meeting was organised in the State Secretariat in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The all-party meeting adopted a resolution for social unity and also appealed people of Kerala to stand united against attempts to malign the image of the state. The resolution said that Kerala was a peaceful and harmonious state. Kerala blast accused Dominic Martin has been charged under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) and Explosive Substances Act. Speaking with ANI, Police Commissioner A Akbar said, "Dominic Martin's arrest was recorded at 7 pm. He will be produced in court within the stipulated time. He has been charged under sections of Explosive Substances Act and UAPA. As of now, we are convinced that this is a single man's act. But we are looking into more details." Dominic Martin surrendered after claiming responsibility for carrying multiple blasts in Ernakulum district of the state during a religious prayer event a day ago at the Zamra International Convention Centre in Kalamassery where over 2,000 followers of Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian sect, had gathered for a prayer meeting on Sunday. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to three after a 12-year-old girl, identified as Libina from Malayattoor, succumbed to her injuries in the early hours of Monday. A man identified as Dominic Martin posted a video on Facebook later on Sunday, claiming responsibility for the attacks. He later surrendered at the Kodakara police station in Thrissur. The police, however, said that they were still in the process of verifying Martin's claims. (ANI)
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