Toll in Kochi blasts rises to 3 with death of 12-year-old girl; spent just ₹3,000 on IEDs, says accused

Meanwhile, the police identified the woman who was instantly killed in the blasts. Leyona Paulose, 55, of Irinjol near Perumbavoor had attended the meeting alone and was not acquainted with anyone, which delayed her identification.

A relative later identified her through the ring she was wearing.

Besides Leyona, Kumari Pushapan, 53, of Kaliyar in Thodupuzha, too, died on Sunday. She passed away while undergoing treatment.

At least 55 people were injured in the series of three explosions at the convention centre, where the followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a sect within the Christian community, had convened for the concluding day of their three-day prayer meeting. Five people are still in critical condition.

Related: Kochi man held under UAPA for Jehovah’s Witnesses meet blasts

Made IEDs in Aluva, says accused

A few hours after the blasts, an estranged member of the cult surrendered before the Kodakara police in the Thrissur district, claiming responsibility for the explosions. In a video posted on Facebook, the man said he took the decision to attack the sect since its teaching were seditious.

The accused, Dominic Martin, told the police that he had learnt to make explosives with the help of YouTube tutorials, and he conducted trails on the terrace of his rented house at Thammanam in Kochi and ancestral home near Aluva.

Martin, who left his house at Thammanam early in the morning, reached the convention centre from his ancestral house.

Refuting the earlier police claim that tiffin boxes were used to carry out the blasts, he said the explosives were kept in six plastic packets and operated using a remote. Martin also told investigators that he kept petrol-filled bottles in the bags.

He used detonators from a safe distance to carry out the blasts. He said he also used 50 high-power crackers bought from a shop at Tripunithura to explode along with the IEDs.

Martin said he spent hardly ₹3,000 for the entire operation, and his mother-in-law, too, was present in the prayer hall. She was unaware of his plan and escaped unhurt.

He said he planted the explosives around 7 am on Sunday after making them at his ancestral house in Aluva. There were only three persons when he planted the explosives in the hall, he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for an all-party meeting on Monday.

Related: Jehovah’s Witnesses: All about the Christian sect with a theological difference and disposition

Jehovah’s Witnesses mum on motive

Though the accused, Martin, claimed in the Facebook video that he had spoken to Jehovah’s Witnesses and asked the cult to change its course, the group claimed in a statement that it was “unwise for us to speculate about the perpetrator(s) or the motive” at this time.

The group said more than 2,200 people were in attendance when “at least two bombs exploded at an annual regional convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.

“All had gathered simply to benefit from free education about the Bible,” the statement issued by the group’s national spokesperson Joshua David said.

The group thanked the investigators, emergency medical personnel, and hospital staff attending to the injured.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event and are praying for the victims’ families. During this time of tragedy, we are comforted by the Bible’s hope of a future when violence will no longer occur.