KOCHI: The police team probing the blasts at the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery recovered batteries, wires and plastic bottles used for making bombs from the house of the accused at Athani near Nedumbassery on Tuesday.
The house owned by Martin at Athani was modelled on an apartment. It is rented out to four families. He kept a room for himself upstairs where he assembled the improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The accused was lodged at Infopark police station on Monday night. He was taken to the house in Athani for evidence collection by 10 am on Tuesday. The evidence collection continued till 4 pm. Martin was taken to the house at Athani where he prepared IEDs. The evidence collection in his room was carried out in the presence of forensic and fingerprint experts. The materials recovered from the house were shifted to the police station in four boxes.
“He made preparations for the explosion in a room upstairs at the house in Athani. The rooms in the house were rented out to several people. He purposefully started painting work of the house so that he could frequently make visits to the place for his nefarious activities. All components, including crackers, circuits, petrol and batteries were stocked in the room. Martin assembled the bomb in the room,” a police official said.
The house was chosen to evade the attention of his family members. Also unlike the busy area in Thammanam where his family lived in a rented house, his activities at the house in Athani did not draw anyone’s attention.
“Martin went out of his rented house in Thammanam around 5.30 am on Sunday on a scooter and reached the house in Athani to collect the IEDs assembled and kept there. From there he went straight to the convention centre in Kalamassery. He did not destroy any traces of evidence as he had planned to surrender before the police after the blasts,” a police officer said.
16 in ICU, 3 crictical
The health condition of three patients, who were admitted to various hospitals in Kochi after the blast at Zamra Convention Centre at Kalamassery, remains critical. The patients — 61-year-old Molly Joy, 46-year-old Saly and 24-year-old Praveen — are on ventilator support. Molly, who was admitted to Rajagiri Hospital, was shifted to Medical Centre Hospital on Tuesday. A total of 21 people are undergoing treatment at various hospitals, and 16 of them (three at Kalamassery Medical College, three at Rajagiri Hospital, five at Medical Centre, two at Aster Medcity and one at Kottayam Medical College) are in the ICU.
The unattended house in Athani
Unlike the busy area in Thammanam where Martin’s family lived in a rented house, his activities at the house in Athani did not draw anyone’s attention