The victim, identified as 45-year-old Sally Pradeepan from Malayattoor district of the state, died at a private hospital on Saturday night.
Published Nov 12, 2023 | 1:27 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 12, 2023 | 1:27 PM
Screengrab from a video of the aftermath of the Kalamassery blasts in Kerala on 29 October.
The death toll in the recent blast at a gathering of the followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery in Kochi has risen to five, the Kerala government said on Sunday, 12 November.
The victim, identified as 45-year-old Sally Pradeepan from Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of the state, died at a private hospital on Saturday night, a government health bulletin said. She was on ventilator support, it added.
As many as 17 people who were injured in the blasts are still undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Kochi, the bulletin by a medical board constituted to treat those who were wounded in the incident said.
Of them eight are in ICU with one in critical condition, and the remaining nine in wards, it said.
The blasts were set off at a religious gathering of a Christian sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses on 29 October.
A 12-year-old girl named Libina from Malayattoor had succumbed to her injuries on 30 October at the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital, and two women who were part of the gathering were killed on the day of the blasts.
Subsequently, 61-year-old Moly Joy from Kalamassery died at a private hospital on 6 November.
Over 50 people were injured, some seriously, during the multiple blasts at an international convention centre in Kalamassery, near the port city of Kerala.
They had gathered for the final day of a three-day-long prayer meeting of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
A few hours after the incident, a man — Dominic Martin — said to be an estranged member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, surrendered before the police in Thrissur district, claiming he carried out the multiple blasts. The police later recorded his arrest.
In addition to Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (punishment for murder) and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) have also been invoked against Martin.
On 6 November, a Kochi court granted the police 10 days custody of Martin.
On 8 November, the Kerala Police booked right-wing vlogger Lasitha Palakkal for allegedly spreading hatred via social media in connection with the blast.
The objectionable campaign was allegedly made to connect People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Abdul Nasar Mahdani with the blast, they said.
Thrikkakara police registered a case against Palakkal and another person, R Sreeraj, for their alleged defamatory social media posts against Mahdani, a prime accused in the Coimbatore blast case.
Palakkal was already known for her alleged inflammatory posts and remarks on social media platforms.
On 4 November, Kerala police said that 54 cases were registered against several people for spreading communally-instigative content through social media after the blasts.
The most number of cases — 26 cases — was registered in the Malappuram district, followed by 15 in Ernakulam, and five in Thiruvananthapuram.
Thrissur city and Kottayam reported two cases each, while Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Palakkad, and Kozhikode Rural have one case each.
The Kerala Police had registered two cases against Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar for allegedly making statements that could promote enmity between different groups through social media posts in connection with the blasts.
The Ernakulam Central Police registered a case against him over the same incident based on a complaint by KPCC digital media convenor P Sarin.
BJP national secretary and spokesperson Anil K Antony was also booked for his social media posts based on the complaint of the Congress leader.
(With PTI inputs)
