THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A suspected bomb blast during a Christian prayer meeting in India’s southern state of Kerala killed two people and wounded more than 35 others, police said on Sunday.

More than 2,000 people were attending a three-day Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting at a convention centre in Kalamassery near the port city of Kochi when the blast ripped through the crowd.

“At about 9:40am approximately there was an explosion in Zamra International Convention Centre in which one person died and 36 are undergoing treatment,” Director General of Police of Kerala Darvesh Saheb told reporters. “We will find out who is behind this and take stringent action preliminary investigation shows it was an IED (improvised explosive device) blast.” Local assistant police commissioner PV Baby said one women died in the initial explosion, and a second woman later died of her wounds.

A man handed himself in to the police after releasing a video message on social media and aired on television channels, in which he claimed to be a former member of the church who now disagreed with its beliefs.

Police said they are “examining his claims and the reasons given for carrying out the act”, according to The Times of India.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported at least three “blasts” had occurred inside the convention centre. Around two per cent of India’s 1.4 billion people are Christian, according to the last census in 2011.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2023