After much dilly-dallying over timing, the police on Friday held the identification parade of Martin V.D., who allegedly carried out the blasts at the annual regional convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses at Kalamassery last Sunday, at the Ernakulam District Prison in Kakkanad on Friday afternoon.
It is learnt that at least three of the witnesses have identified the accused in the presence of a judicial first class magistrate. However, it cannot be independently verified as the Special Investigation Team probing the case has pulled a complete veil of secrecy over the proceedings.
Among the witnesses were those who reportedly saw Martin at the convention centre at Kalamassery on the morning of the blasts and on the premises of his building at Athani where he had allegedly assembled the improvised explosive devices (IEDs). More witnesses are reportedly set to take part in a similar parade in the coming days based on a witness list drawn up by the police.
The police are now likely to approach the district court for Martin’s custody. He remains to be taken to more places for evidence collection since he has so far been taken to his building at Athani alone.
He will have to be taken to the blast site, the outlets from where he claimed to have procured petrol and crackers for making the IEDs, electrical components, and the remote control. He will also have to be taken to the lodge in Thrissur where he allegedly made social media posts claiming responsibility for the blasts.
The police are also awaiting results of the forensic examination of his mobile phone. Notwithstanding Martin’s claim that he alone was behind the blasts, a detailed investigation may be needed to rule out the involvement of anyone else.
