Dominic Martin refused the assistance of a legal aid lawyer, despite being offered many times, and said he would represent himself.
Published Oct 31, 2023 | 10:09 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 31, 2023 | 10:09 PM
Dominic Martin in his video message. (Screengrab)
The accused in the Kalamassery blasts — Dominic Martin — has been sent to judicial custody till 29 November by a sessions court judge Honey M Verghese in Kerala on Tuesday, 31 October.
Three people were killed and 60 injured in the multiple blasts that ripped through the Zamra Convention Centre, during a prayer meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses around 9.38 am on Sunday, 29 October.
A few hours after that, Martin, who claimed to be an estranged member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before the police in Thrissur district, claiming that he carried out the multiple blasts.
Martin refused the assistance of a legal aid lawyer, despite it being offered several times by the court, and said he would represent himself.
Police told the court that it would be filing an application for a Test Identification Parade before the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday, 1 November and, thereafter, seek Martin’s custody.
During the day, the accused was taken to his house at Athani in Kochi for evidence collection, a police officer told PTI.
The officer also said that the accused worked abroad for 17 years, had a highly paid job and was an intelligent person.
The accused will be shifted to the Kakkanad district jail near Kochi.
Most baffled by the turn of events was BA Jaleel, Martin’s landlord for the past five-and-a-half years at Thammanam. The accused and his family, comprising his wife, an IT professional daughter, and a son, now studying in the United Kingdom, have been living on the first floor of Jaleel’s house.
Martin’s wife and daughter came to know of his involvement in the blast through the television, they rushed downstairs crying and had not eaten anything since, said Jaleel.
People close to Martin’s family confirmed that they all had been part of the cult, but distanced from it later. None of them were active in the cult for the past four years.
However, his wife’s family continued to maintain links with the cult, and his mother-in-law was present at the prayer meeting when the blast occurred. She escaped unhurt and was unaware of Martin’s plans.
Local ward councillor T Sakeer said he contacted Martin’s wife, who told him that she was unaware of Martin’s extreme thoughts. The councillor also said that Martin had been a foreman earlier, and it might have helped him make IEDs by attending YouTube tutorials.
On Monday, 30 October, police had formally recorded the arrest of Martin, who had surrendered a few hours after the blasts on Sunday, 29 October, morning.
Besides Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (Punishment for murder) and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, relevant sections of UAPA have also been invoked against the accused.
Three blasts were set off at a convention centre in Kalamassery near Kochi where a prayer meeting of the Jehovah’s Witnesses— a Christian religious group that originated in the US in the 19th century— was held on Sunday.
Before he surrendered, Martin posted a video on social media stating his reasons for carrying out the blasts.
By Sunday evening, a 21-member special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala Police, headed by ADGP Ajith Kumar, was set up to probe the case.
Initially, one woman had died, and over 60 were injured, six of them critically, in the blasts.
Subsequently, one of the six critically wounded— a 53-year-old woman— succumbed to her injuries.
By Monday morning, the toll rose to three with the death of a 12-year-old girl who had suffered 95 percent burns in the incident.
Presently, 21 people are receiving treatment in various healthcare facilities, with three of them in critical condition.
(With PTI inputs)
