Kerala Blasts: Court Sends Accused To Judicial Custody Till November 29 In Kochi Blast Case

The accused, identified as Dominic Martin, had surrendered to the police after the blasts and had claimed responsibility. He has booked under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

Multiple blasts rocked an event of Christian sect Jehovah's Witnesses at a convention centre on Sunday at Kerala's Kochi. Three persons were killed and more than 50 were injured. The police have said the blasts were caused by improvised explosive device (IED). 

Martin has refuted any legal assistance despite the court extending it multiple times and said he would represent himself in the court, reported PTI.

Martin has identified himself as a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect and has claimed he carried out the bombing after his concerns about the sect's teachings were ignored. The police are investigating the claims. 

What do we know about Kerala blasts probe?

The Kerala Police informed the court that it would be filing for a test identification parade (TIP) before the court on Wednesday. 

A 21-member special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala Police is investigating the case. It is headed by Kerala's Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Ajith Kumar. 

There were also reports that the Centre had personnel from the National Security Guards (NSG) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) to make enquiries and collect evidence. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the police took accused Martin to his house and collected evidence, said an officer to PTI. 

Later, Martin was shifted to the Kakkanad district jail near Kochi.

After taking him into custody on Sunday, the police formally arrested Martin on Monday and booked under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 3 of Explosive Substances Act, and relative sections of the anti-terrorism Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

As of now, 21 people remain in hospitals with injuries, three of whom are critical, reported PTI.