In an update to the blast that was reported in Kerala’s Kochi last year, the police have withdrawn terrorism charges against Dominic Martin, the only person accused in the case. The blasts took place last year at a Jehovah’s Witness convention in Kalamassery, which killed eight people and injured 45 others severely.
The UAPA charges filed against Martin were reportedly dropped after the state refused to prosecute him under the said act. According to the New Indian Express, the police stated that despite the fact the investigation team had finished every procedure for prosecuting Martin under UAPA, the state administration declined to pursue UAPA charges.
“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,” a police source was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.
After the police submitted the chargesheet at the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court in April of this year, the matter was sent to the Kalamassery magistrate court for committal hearings. Martin will now stand trial for offenses only under several sections of the IPC and the Explosives Act.
Kochi City Police Deputy Commissioner K S Sudarshan, who examined the issue, confirmed that Martin’s UAPA charges were withdrawn because they did not get the sanction from the government. “However, we don’t know the reason behind the denial,” he said.
Officers on the investigation team assert that, while UAPA charge has been dismissed, Martin still faces additional serious allegations that might result in a capital punishment. There are 284 witnesses in this case. Over 150 material objects and documents were submitted before the court, along with a chargesheet spanning over 3,500 pages.
Last year, multiple blasts were executed at a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting at a convention center at Kalamassery, Ernakulam in Kochi district, killing eight and injuring over more than 50 persons.
#WATCH | Kerala: It was an accident. We all rushed out. That's all that we know. And we all rushed out. Got everybody to safety. That's all we can say is this now. We're going to meet the officers so we'll know what the situation is..," says Aji, committee member https://t.co/jIJZEJgQ38 pic.twitter.com/069iJF1tT5
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023
Hours after the blasts, a man named Dominic Martin surrendered to the police claiming responsibility for the explosions. Before his arrest, Martin, a former member of Jehova’s Witness, appeared live on a social media platform and said that he believed that its teachings were “anti-national and seditious”.
“Their teaching is not right. They are teaching anti-national things. I told them that they should change their ways. Staying in a…but cursing and addressing people in that country in the worst…derogatory form is they do. They are telling a 4-year-old child that if somebody from another community gives you candy, you shouldn’t have it. From an early age, they are feeding such poison into the child,” the accused reportedly alleged.
He further said, “I took this decision because I understood that this organization is bad for the country. Political parties won’t take action because everyone is scared of religion. You should open your eyes.”
The Indian Express quoted Martin saying that Jehova’s Witnesses ask the children not to sing the national anthem or join the defense services. “They teach that all people of the world will perish and only they will live. What should we do with the people who long for the ruin of the entire people in the world? I could not find a solution,” Martin said.
Jehova’s Witnesses, according to information available on their website jw.org, “strive to adhere to the form of Christianity that Jesus taught and that is apostles practiced”. They consider Jehova as the one true and Almighty God, the Creator, who is the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
According to information on jw.org, Jehova’s Witnesses do not participate in nationalistic ceremonies. “Jehova’s Witnesses choose not to participate in such ceremonies because we believe that these conflict with Bible teachings. We appreciate receiving the same respect for our beliefs as we show to others who make a different choice,” the official website of Jehova’s Witnesses reads. The group claims to remain “strictly neutral” in political affairs and “avoid affiliation with other religions”. Interestingly, a lot of these beliefs bear a resemblance to Islam in more than one way primarily owing to their Abrahamic origins. They believe religion to be above nationalism, propagate and practice conversion, and provoke people to commit anti-national acts.
In the given case, the Kerala government and the UAPA committee have now withdrawn the UAPA charge against Dominic. It is believed that the government has taken this decision owing to politics.
