Site icon THE NEW INDIAN

Kochi Blast: Amit Shah assures full central support, speaks to CM Vijayan

  • Vivek Narayanan

    • Vijayan has convened an All-Party meeting, scheduled for tomorrow at 10 am in light of the blasts

    KOCHI: In response to the four coordinated blasts reported at Zamra Convention and Exhibition Centre, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dialled Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take stock of the situation. Following his directive, teams from the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have been dispatched to assist the state government in anti-terror efforts.

    Vijayan has convened an All-Party meeting, scheduled for tomorrow at 10 am in the Chief Minister’s Conference Hall within the Secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram. He added that the situation is being monitored seriously.

    ALSO READ: One killed, 25 injured in bomb blasts at Christian meeting in Kerala

    These developments come amid the backdrop of the CM’s participation in the ‘Stop this Genocidal Aggression’ protest against Israel’s offensive in Palestine, at the CPI(M)’s AKG Bhawan office in Delhi.

    At the protest, he had also criticised the Narendra Modi government for abstaining from voting on a United Nations resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Whereupon, he emphasised India’s stance in support of the Palestinian cause through decades.

    Probing authorities have drawn a few conclusions regarding the blasts, elucidating that since the first blast occurred at 9:30 AM, while the Jehovah’s Witnesses members had entered the prayer hall at 9:20 AM, they have come to believe that the incident had been premediatated and “meticulously planned”.


    ALSO READ: Tiffin bomb behind Kerala blasts, state on alert: DGP Dr. Sheikh Darvesh Saheb

    Among the 52 injured, 18 are in the ICU, while 10 have been admitted to the wards, with six individuals in critical condition.

    The identity of the deceased is yet to be known. Eye witnesses at the convention centre informed reporters that the blast occurred in the midst of a prayer session. Earlier, Kerala police DGP, Dr. Sheikh Darvesh Saheb, had confirmed the use of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), there were reports that the IED kept inside a tiffin box led to the blasts.

     

     

    Exit mobile version