Dominic Martin

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dominic Martin

• Dominic Martin is an Indian citizen who went viral as the mastermind of the Kerala blasts in a Christian religious gathering in October 2023.

• While he only studied till the 10th standard, he had good English speaking skills and later became a Spoken English tutor after growing up and later shifted to Dubai while his family lived at a rented house in Thammanam, Kochi, India.

• According to one source, he has lived in Dubai for 15 or 17 years where he worked as an electrical foreman at a construction company and returned to India a few months before October 2023. He told his employer in Dubai that one of his relatives met with an accident.

• According to his Indian landlord, Jaleel B.A., he gave spoken English classes in Anchumuri, and after he lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic, he moved to Dubai in 2021. He returned to India in August 2023 after his daughter fell ill due to dengue. Jaleel claimed that Dominic did several odd jobs while living in Dubai. ^[7]Onmanorama ^[8]The Hindu

  

• After the 2018 Kerala floods, Dominic posted many messages related to the relief aid for the victims. ^[9]Instagram – Dominic Martin Dominic ^[10]Facebook – Dominic Martin Dominic

• Bomb blasts took place at the Jehovah’s Witnesses’s Zamra convention centre in Kalamassery, Kerala, India on the morning of 29 October 2023, in which many people got seriously injured and several got killed. Police investigations revealed that blasts were done using IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).

  

• Following the attack, rumours spread on social media that the attack was done by Islamic extremists. It also came to light that a prominent member of the Islamic political and military organisation named Hamas, Khaled Mashal, addressed a gathering virtually, which might have instigated the extremists to carry out such lone-wolf attacks.

• On the same day after the blasts, on 29 October 2023, he did a Facebook Live in which he talked about his motive behind carrying out the bomb blasts. He said during the livestream that he was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the last 16 years; however, for the last six years, he has not attended any of their conventions.

• During the live stream, he said that the cult’s teachings were anti-national and spread religious hatred among its members. He claimed that the cult told its members to not enrol in the Indian military and police forces and not to endorse any national symbols. They also told children to not take food or share food with other children of different religions.

• Dominic alleged during the live stream that he requested the head of the sect to change their ways on multiple occasions; however, when he saw that the sect was continuing with its practices, he decided to bomb a meeting to force them to alter their ways. His Facebook livestream was later deleted after he surrendered at the Kodakara police station. ^[11]Onmanorama

  

• Reportedly, on the morning of 29 October 2023, around 5:30 a.m., he left his house on a scooter and came to the conventional centre around 7:30 a.m. with two bags of IEDs (bombs). Around 8:15 – 8: 30 a.m., he placed those bags in the central region of the hall and waited for the people to gather. He went towards the exit of the hall around 9:30 a.m. and then pressed the remote, detonating the bombs.

• Dominic recorded the bombings on his mobile phone and left the hall. Around 10: 45 a.m., he came to the Miracle Residency in Kodakara where he rented room number 410 and did his Facebook livestream. He left the hotel within 15 minutes, and around 1 p.m., he arrived at Kodakara Police Station to surrender. He was later arrested and moved to the Crime Branch office in Kalamassery.

  

• It was later revealed that Dominic’s relatives, particularly his mother-in-law, were also present at the bombing site, and he called his wife many times to ask her to get her mother away from the gathering; however, his wife did not answer the call as she was busy in some household work. Dominic then decided to go ahead with his plan to bomb the place. ^[12]The New Indian Express

• His wife, Mini, was shocked when she saw his name as the ‘Kerala bomber’ and Facebook live on the news and went to their landlord, Jaleel B.A. and told him about the situation. Mini and her daughter did not come out of the house when the media reporters went to their house to ask them about Dominic. When asked about Dominic’s nature and religion, Jaleel said that Dominic never talked about religion with others and was a quiet and peaceful person. ^[13]The Hindu

  

• Jaleel talked about a specific incident that happened a few months before the bombings and revealed that Dominic brought a barbecue grill and told Jaleel that his daughter liked grilled meat. Dominic told Jaleel that if he ever saw any smoke coming out of the house, he should not get worried as that occasionally happens while operating the grill.

  

• Reportedly, around five and a half years before October 2023, he and his family were living at House No. 92, along Comrade Khader Road, Kuthapady, Thammanam, and as per his driving licence, Velikkakath House, Chilavannoor, Kadavantra is his permanent residence.

  

• Allegedly, he spent only Rs 3000 to make bombs and used 8 litres of petrol and a mobile phone signal to detonate them. According to one source, he made bombs in the other room of his rented house when his wife and daughter slept in the other room, and as per another source, he prepared those bombs at his Athani apartment. Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said during the preliminary investigation that Dominic is an intelligent man and highly skilful in making electronic circuits. ^[14]The Times of India

  

• On 30 October 2023, a case was registered against him under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 3(A) of the Explosive Substances Act and section 16 (1)(A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). On 31 October 2023, he was presented in the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court where Sessions Court judge Honey M Varghese remanded him to judicial custody till 29 November 2023. ^[15]Onmanorama

  

• Dominic was also given an offer to accept a lawyer’s counsel which he denied and said that he would himself argue his case. After the hearing, he was transferred to the Kakkanad district jail. Police officials talked about his behaviour during the investigation and said that he looked unfazed about the death of the old people and showed traits of a psychopath, but he looked worried upon hearing the news of a 12-year-old girl’s death.