KOCHI: In a surprising development, the police have dropped terrorism charges against Dominic Martin, the sole accused in last year’s blasts during a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention in Kalamassery that left eight dead and 45 others severely injured.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the twin blasts at Zamra convention centre on Tuesday, TNIE has learnt that the charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Martin were dropped after the state refused to prosecute him under the Act. Sources in the police headquarters said though the investigation team had completed all the procedures for prosecuting Martin under UAPA, the state government refused sanction.
“The paperwork was completed, and the police had submitted the documents to the UAPA committee. After the committee reviewed it, the government decided not to grant prosecution sanction under UAPA in the case. The sanction was denied due to the stand of Left parties against UAPA,” said a source.
“After the police filed the chargesheet at the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court in April this year, the case was transferred to the Kalamassery magistrate court for committal proceedings. Now, Martin will face trial for offences under various sections of the IPC and the Explosives Act,” the source said. Kochi City Police Deputy Commissioner K S Sudarshan, who investigated the case, confirmed that UAPA charges against Martin have been dropped, as they “did not get the sanction from the government.” “However, we don’t know the reason behind the denial,” he said.
Officers in the probe team claim that though UAPA was dropped, Martin still faces other grave charges that could attract capital punishment. There are 284 witnesses in the case. Over 150 material objects and documents were submitted in the court, along with the chargesheet that runs for over 3,500 pages.
Incident was a shock to us, but we are moving ahead: Jehovah’s Witnesses
Though there is a possibility for Martin to get bail in the wake of the dropping of UAPA charges, he is yet to move the court for it. Lodged at Ernakulam District Jail in Kakkanad, Martin is living a solitary life, the prison authorities said.
“We approached him for appointing a government lawyer to represent him in court. However, he wants to pursue the case himself. He has not filed any bail application. He doesn’t interact with other prisoners and spends most of his time reading and writing. He only meets his close relatives during visiting hours,” a jail official said.
The probe has ruled out the involvement of a second accused. “Until now, the involvement of any other person in the blast could not be found. Martin was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and held a strong grudge against the group. He had the know-how to handle electrical equipment and learned how to make IEDs by watching videos online,” Sudarshan said.
Meanwhile, Jehovah’s Witnesses has been holding conventions, overcoming the loss of eight of its members in the blast. Sreekumar T A, the Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesperson, said the group is now organising conventions in different parts of the state. “No doubt, the incident was a shock to us. But we are moving ahead.
As many as 53 people, including the families of eight who died, were affected by the incident. The sect is meeting the medical expenses of the injured. Some of them were severely injured and it would take years for them to get better. The state has given compensation to the families of the deceased,” he said.
Sreekumar said they recently organised a major convention in Angamaly. “Now, we thoroughly inspect the participants before allowing them entry,” he said.
However, the sect is not convinced by Martin’s reason for carrying out the blasts. “He joined the sect several years back, but was not regular in its activities. He did not convey anything regarding the reformation of the sect to us. We came to know about all these through the media after the blasts,” he said.
