Police investigating the serial blasts at Kalamassery suspect that the accused, Dominic Martin, had conceived the plan while he was abroad. Investigators are also probing whether he had received any help while he was in Dubai. Though Martin claimed that he had made the IEDs used in the blast at his flat in Athani, near Aluva, Kochi, police are not sure if Martin is the only culprit. The suspicion that he might have received “help from outside parties” cannot be ruled out, police said. Top police officials including the DGP are conducting a probe to also find out if there was any other motive behind Martin’s actions.

Terror was unleashed upon a 2,000-odd strong prayer congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Zamra International Convention Centre, Kalamassery, Kochi, on the morning of Sunday, October 29, as three back-to-back bomb explosions occurred. The blasts killed three people and wounded 58 other members.

The bomb blast probe took a startling turn when a disgruntled former evangelist claimed responsibility saying he made the explosives after watching videos on the internet to make IEDs. Martin justified that the religious sect, Jehovah Witness, was ‘anti-national’ and that he carried out the attack after failing to put he group on the right path.

Though the group initially said they did not have a member named Martin, by October 30, many in the group informed the leaders that Martin had appeared at prayer meetings a few years ago. However, he was not known to have been involved in any quarrels.

Martin has been sent to police custody for 10 days after being taken to a hospital for his medical checkup. He has informed the court that he is healthy and fit and will cooperate with any investigation. The police have informed the court that they need to investigate sources of the explosive substances, international connections if any and other financial and technical sources. They also need to collect evidence from 10 places. Visuals of the remote control device used to trigger the blasts have been recovered from Martin’s mobile phone. According to the police, Martin had placed the bombs along with a bottle filled with petrol, and triggered them from a distance.

Martin, who lived with his wife and daughter at Thammanam, Kochi, has been described as a soft-spoken man. He has two children, a son who is pursuing his studies in the United Kingdom, and the daughter, working at Infopark, Kochi. He taught English at a centre in Kochi and left for Dubai after he lost his job two years ago. He survived there doing odd jobs and returned to Kochi two months ago.