The special investigation team (SIT) probing the multiple blasts at a crowded Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer convention at Kalamassery in Kerala has put up security surveillance outside a building at Athani in Ernakulam district reportedly owned by the prime suspect Dominic Martin. The building is located within the Chengamanad police stations limits under the Ernakulam Rural police.
The multi-storey building appears to be rented out to three persons employed at a company, while one room has been taken on rent for the safekeeping of equipment used for football training conducted by a retired police official on the adjoining ground.
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“He (Martin) did not come here regularly. Recently, he was here on Friday (October 27) in connection with maintenance works of the building. We came to know about his involvement in the blasts only after news channels flashed his photo,” said Siju Peter, a resident in the neighbourhood.
Thomas, another local resident, said that Martin did not live in the building at any time. “He was not that frequently seen here. I last met him in connection with the power connection for the building a few years ago,” he said.
The tenants at the building used to go home during weekends and returned only on Mondays. The police have sought their cooperation in the investigation and asked them not to leave without informing them.
It is being verified whether the suspect had in some way used the building in connection with the making of the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which he had allegedly used to trigger the blast or as a storage point.
