The death toll has soared to three, and as many as 56 injured individuals are currently receiving medical care following a series of devastating explosions that occurred during a religious gathering in Kerala, often referred to as "God's Own Country".
Apart from the Jammu and Kashmir union territory of India, which is a volatile region, this is the first time an Indian state has seen a terror attack of this scale since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014.
Here is What is Known so Far on Kerala Serial Blasts
A powerful explosion took place at around 9:40 am IST during the opening prayer on the final day of a three-day zonal conference of the non-Trinitarian Christian group Jehovah’s Witnesses at Zamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This was followed by two other low-intensity explosions, creating panic among the 2,500 people who were present at the conference.
The union home minister, Amit Shah, conducted a high-level meeting with Kerala state chief Pinarayi Vijayan and promptly instructed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) to investigate the incident.
Man Behind Bomb Blast Surrenders
Hours after the blast, a man named Dominic Martin issued a video and took responsibility for the explosion at the convention centre. He eventually turned himself in to the police in the Thrissur district in Kerala, and admitted to planting the bomb at the site of the prayer meeting.
In the video, Martin shared his belief that the Jehovah's Witnesses' teachings are "anti-national" and that he had also made efforts to talk to the group about changing their views.
“I had been a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the last 16 years. I realized that their stand is anti-national and wanted them to rectify it. But they were not ready for it. I could understand this is a wrong ideology", Martin said in the video.
"They inject poison into the brains of children that they should not take even a sweet from others. They are asked not to sing the national anthem or join the defence service. They teach that all people of the world would perish and only they will live. What should we do with the people who long for the ruin of the entire people in the world? I could not find a solution”, he added.
There are reports stating that for the past five years, Martin and his wife have been living on Khader Lane, together with their two children.
His family and landlord were astonished when they discovered that Martin had taken full responsibility for the incident. Sakkir Thammanam, a local councillor, told Indian media that his wife believed that Martin was going to meet his friend at the time when he went to plant the explosives at the convention centre.
According to reports, Martin was only educated until Class X. He was running a spoken English tutorial class in Thammanam a few years ago.
After his work shut down, he went overseas to the Gulf, and only recently returned to Kerala.
Aftermath of Terror Attack
On Monday, Kerala state chief called for an all-party meeting in which several leaders joined forces and adopted a resolution, urging people to stand united against attempts to malign the state’s peaceful and harmonious social milieu.
"A situation where hate is propagated towards a particular faith or where communities or individuals are treated with suspicion will not be tolerated. Those who attempt to incite such thoughts of disunity should be recognized as common enemies of our nation and our people", the resolution reads.