Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said he was shocked and dismayed by the news of a bomb attack on a religious gathering in Kerala. "I condemn it unreservedly and demand swift police action," he said, adding that but that is not enough. "To see my state falling prey to the mentality of killing and destruction is tragic."
The Congress leader urged all religious leaders to unite in condemning such barbarism and teaching their followers that violence achieves nothing but more violence.
This morning at 9.40 am, blasts at a convention centre of a Christian religious group in Kalamassery in Kochi rocked Kerala. At least one person died an 36 were injured. The blast was caused due to an improvised explosive device (IED), state DGP Shaik Darvesh Saheb said as per PTI. The State Police Chief told reporters that according to the preliminary probe the blast occurred due to an IED.
"This morning at 9.40 am approximately, there was an explosion in Zamrah International Convention Centre in Kalamassery in which one person died and 36 people are undergoing treatment as per our information," the DGP said.
However, there were conflicting reports about the number of blasts as state Ministers V N Vasavan and Antony Raju said there were two blasts, while Congress MP from Ernakulam, Hibi Eden, said there were multiple blasts according to one of his friends who attended the convention. "What they have told us is that there were two blasts according to the initial findings," the ministers said.
On being asked whether it was a terror attack, the DGP said he cannot say anything at this stage. "Only after the investigation can I confirm the details. We are examining all the angles. We will find out who is behind this and will take stringent action against them,” the top police official said.
The incident occurred at around 9.38 am on the last day of the convention and there were around 2,300 people present there at that time. The ministers, including state Revenue Minister K Rajan, said that the people were praying with their eyes closed when the blast occurred. They said that people came from various parts of the state for the convention.
The blasts occurred during the convention of the Jehovah’s Witnesses — a Christian religious group that originated in the United States of America in the 19th century.
(With inputs from PTI)