The bomb blast on Sunday at the prayer meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) that claimed three lives was a well-planned and executed act of terrorism, according to Intelligence Bureau officials probing the case. Though Dominic Martin, the JW follower-turned-rebel, surrendered to the police with claims that he alone was responsible for the explosion perpetrated by a tiffin box bomb powered with IED, the IB has found out that he was helped in the act by various people including Bangladesh-based terrorist groups. “The telephone numbers given by Martin are fake and do not exist,” IB officials told a satellite TV news channel on Monday.
Martin’s claim that he learned how to assemble the bomb and IED from YouTube has fallen apart as the IB officials pointed out that one would not be able to comprehend the technology, especially a person who has no basic technical qualifications. “He received help from others in acquiring the materials to make the bomb,” said an IB official.
RVS Mani, a former bureaucrat who gained fame with his book “The Myth of Hindu Terror,” informed The Pioneer that Martin’s claim is akin to that of an assembly-line-manufactured accused. He emphasised that crafting a tiffin box bomb and IED is not achievable without external assistance. Mani drew a parallel between Martin and Pranesh Pillai (who converted to Islam and adopted the name Javed Ghulam), recalling that Pillai, along with three others, was fatally shot by the Gujarat Police and Intelligence Bureau on June 15, 2004. They were allegedly on a mission to assassinate the then Chief Minister of Gujarat in Gandhi Nagar.
He expressed shock over the attempt by the Kerala Police and the media to subvert the investigation by portraying Dominic Martin as the sole person responsible for the bomb blast. “The Chief of Kerala Police, Sheikh Darvesh, was heard telling reporters that the investigation into the Kalamassery blast would be conducted as directed by the Chief Minister. Is it the Chief Minister who decides the type of investigation to be carried out in a case like this?” asked Mani. He said there was an attempt to conceal the true culprits in the case.
The police chief has urged people not to post any messages on social media. “We will take stringent action against those spreading false and fake news through social media,” warned Darvesh.
Leaders of various Islamist organisations, including the Muslim League, openly stated on Monday that they accused a certain section of people of attempting to depict a particular community as terrorists. “The reactions of some political and social groups are driven by preconceived notions and prejudice,” said Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, president of the Muslim League.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated to the media that Kerala has become a safe haven for terrorists and anti-national elements. In response, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan countered by accusing the Union Minister of making baseless claims. Vijayan said, “He and his group are upset over the support given by the people of Kerala to Hamas and Palestine. His style of politics won’t work here.”
Chandrasekhar was referring to Vijayan’s frequent visits to New Delhi as part of his effort to position himself as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate for the Opposition parties. On Monday, the BJP’s Kerala unit staged a protest at the Government Secretariat, demanding the resignation of Vijayan as the Chief Minister. BJP chief JP Nadda, who led the protest, described the CPI(M) Government as the most corrupt government the State has witnessed. He said the CPI(M) and the Congress were collaborating with terrorists and anti-national forces as part of their appeasement policy.
