-Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal virtually addressed the rally held in Malappuram.
-An eight-member NSG team and bomb disposal unit were sent from Delhi to Kerala.
-One person surrenders in the Kerala blast case and takes responsibility for the blasts in the convention centre.
New Delhi, October 29: The central government is on high alert following Sunday’s massive bomb blasts during a prayer meeting in Kalamassery, barely 12 hours after former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal’s virtual address at a pro-Palestine rally in Malappuram, Kerala.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is keeping an eye on the entire situation, and an eight-member National Security Guard (NSG) team has been sent to Kerala. A bomb disposal unit has been sent from Delhi to Kerala to collect and examine the materials used in the blast.
One person was killed and 52 people were injured in three bomb blasts, one after the other, at a convention centre in Kalamassery in Ernakulam district of Kerala on Sunday morning.
The explosion occurred when a prayer meeting of ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’, a sect of Christians, was going on at the convention centre.
The team of the NIA and Kerala Police reached the spot and started an investigation. In the evening, a person surrendered at Kodakara police station in Thrissur district, claiming that he was the one who had planted the bomb at the convention centre.
However, the police have not yet confirmed whether he has any connection with the blast or not, but he is being interrogated.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George stated that 52 people are admitted to different hospitals. There are 30 people admitted to the medical college, of whom 18 are in the ICU. Sixteen are seriously injured, among them a 12-year-old child. All the remaining injured are in other private hospitals. The deceased has not been identified yet.
On the blast at Jamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Kalamassery, Kerala DGP Sheikh Darvesh Saheb told that after I reach the spot, we will form a special team for this day itself. When asked whether there was any information regarding the blast, he said there was no specific information.
On the other hand, intelligence agencies had given three alerts to the Kerala government in the last week for possible attacks on non-Muslims, but the Kerala government did not take them seriously.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night, a pro-Palestine rally took place in Malappuram, Kerala, which was addressed virtually by former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal. Barely 12 hours after this rally, three bomb blasts, one after the other, this morning shook the entire state of Kerala.
After this, union Home Minister Amit Shah directed the NSG to investigate the incident. Along with this, an eight-member team, including an officer, has been sent to Kerala to inquire about the bomb blast.
Along with this, NSG has also sent one of its bomb disposal units from Delhi to Kerala to collect and investigate the materials used in the blast. Initial investigation of the incident has revealed that IED was used for the blasts, which were hidden in a tiffin box and kept at different places in the crowd so that the maximum number of people could be affected in case of chaos.
Meanwhile, a video of this incident has also surfaced, in which people are seen running from here to there in an atmosphere of chaos. The chairs are engulfed in flames, and some people are removing the chairs from there to prevent the fire from spreading.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar held the Kerala government responsible for the blast targeting the Christian community.
He said that only yesterday the state government allowed the former chief of the terrorist organisation Hamas to address the pro-Palestine rally virtually, and the Kerala government allowed that programme to happen, and after this, we are seeing the result in the form of blasts.
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said he is shocked to hear about the blast at a religious gathering in Kalamassery, in which one person died and more than 20 were injured.
He expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
On the blasts in Kerala, former union Minister and BJP leader Alphons KJ says that obviously the situation is very serious due to the many blasts. I have been warning for a long time that this has been happening in Kerala for a very long time. Today, Kerala is in the grip of terrorism, which has to be stopped.
BJP leader Anil Antony says that Kerala has seen the rise of many radical organisations in the last few years. Now the Communist Party is ruling Kerala. Congress and the Muslim League are the two main opposition parties. All three are part of the Indie Coalition. Yesterday, a terrorist leader in Kerala addressed a huge crowd virtually. The BJP strongly condemns all these activities. In the last few months, the NIA has conducted several investigations in Kerala. Once again, NIA will have to step in.
