A former Jehovah’s Witness is in custody after claiming in a Facebook video that he was behind Sunday’s deadly mass blast at a Christian group rally in India.
Dominic Martin surrendered to police after posting footage online saying he was responsible for the blast at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kerala in southern India that killed at least two people and injured dozens more.
Authorities said the massacre was caused by improvised explosive devices and that 36 people were injured, including a 12-year-old girl who was badly burned and remains in critical condition.
“I take full responsibility for this,” Martin said during his 6-minute Facebook video, which has since been removed.
“I did the bomb blast,” he said. “I made this video to explain why I did this.”
Martin claimed Jehovah’s Witnesses were “anti-national” and said he was trying to convince the group to change its views.
A series of explosions at a Jehovah’s Witness rally in India on Sunday morning killed two people and injured at least 36 others.REUTERS
“Dominic is still being questioned in Kochi,” said local police spokesman Pramod Kumar. “He is in our custody, but we have not recorded his arrest so far.
“We are still trying to ascertain the truth of his statement,” said Kumar. “It will take some time. We are not in a position to confirm his involvement in the case now. [The] investigation is underway.”
“The blast occurred moments after the second prayer as part of the day’s events,” Sreekumar told reporters. “The first explosion occurred in the middle of the hall. A few seconds later, two more explosions simultaneously rocked both sides of the hall.”
Dozens of people were injured in a series of explosions at the Zamra International Convention Center in southern India, as well as two deaths. AFP via Getty Images Martin surrendered to police after posting footage online saying he was responsible for the explosion at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kerala in southern India.AP
About 2,300 Jehovah’s Witnesses attended the three-day event at the convention center, but TA Sreekumar, the group’s representative, told Reuters that Martin was not registered to attend.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international Christian group founded in the US around 1870 and known for door-to-door evangelism. There are about 60,000 followers in India.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
