The Evening Wrap: Two killed in blast at Kerala's Kalamassery

Two people died and many others were injured in a fire that broke out inside a large convention centre at Kalamassery near Kochi after what eye-witnesses said were a series of blasts inside the hall around 9.30 a.m. The prayer meeting at the Zamra International Convention Centre was organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses, a restorationist Christian denomination. One of those attending the prayer meeting said there would have been around 2,000 people inside the hall. The injured, including a child, have been admitted to a private hospital near the blast site. The condition of five of them are reported to be serious. Meanwhile, the investigation took a turn when a former member of the evangelist group surrendered at Kodakara, claiming responsibility for the attack. The police probe had already pivoted towards the inner workings of the almost cult-like religious organisation with a significant presence in Kerala. However, police were also pursuing other trails, including a car that suspiciously left the locality moments before the explosion and radical organisations inimical to international evangelical organisations that back Israel’s political line against Palestine. Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M.R. Ajith Kumar, said that the investigators were verifying the integrity of the suspect’s claim. They were also probing a video purportedly broadcast by the suspect, a resident of Kochi, on Facebook. The video, if true, seemed to suggest that profound differences of opinion in the religious organisation resulted in the “insider attack”. The person in the video claimed that he was a zealous group member for 16 years. However, he got disenchanted with the group’s teachings in 2017. The broadcaster claimed the group propagated anti-national sentiment and persuaded its followers not to enlist in the army or take up government employment. Moreover, he alleged the group’s messaging disparaged the country as a whole and encouraged members not to even partake in meals with people who were not Jehovah’s Witness members. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called an all-party meeting to mitigate the fraught social climate precipitated by the blast. Vijayan was in New Delhi to attend a politbureau meeting of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), but embarked for Kerala after the incident. He termed the attack “extremely unfortunate” and when asked if the blast was a terrorist attack, said the police were probing all angles. However, CPI(M) State Secretary M. V. Govindan aired the possibility that the Kalamassery blast was a terrorist incident orchestrated to divert attention from Kerala’s empathy with the oppressed people of Palestine. State Health Minister Veena George indicated the death toll in the blast was likely to climb. Earlier in the day, Kerala Police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb said the attacker used an improvised explosive device (IED). He also said the police would prosecute those who seek to inflame passions by spreading malicious misinformation on the Internet in the wake of the blasts. Israel-Hamas war | Israeli Army says ‘increased’ troop numbers inside Gaza The Israeli Army has raised the number of troops fighting inside the Gaza Strip, a spokesman said on October 29, as the military stepped up its war on Hamas in the tiny Palestinian territory. “Overnight we increased the entry of IDF forces into the (Gaza) Strip, and they joined the forces already fighting there,” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that the death toll due to the war in the region rose to 8,005 on the day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a jab at his intelligence chiefs on X (formerly Twitter), saying they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on October 7 but later retracted his comments and issued an apology. The remarks caused a political uproar and a rift within Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Netanyahu’s now-deleted post said: “At no time and no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding war intentions of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of army intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and interested in an arrangement.” In a second post on X about 10 hours later, Netanyahu wrote: “I was wrong,” adding that his remarks “should not have been made and I apologize for that.” “I give full backing to all the heads of the security branches,” he said. Thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza to take food and “basic survival items,” the UNRWA, U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said, in a mark of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order in Gaza. UNRWA’s schools across the territory have been transformed into packed shelters housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict. Meanwhile, a Jewish settler shot dead a Palestinian man harvesting olives near the West Bank city of Nablus, the victim’s family said. This brings the number of Palestinians reported killed by settlers to seven since the war. The Palestinian Health Ministry too said that Israeli forces killed three Palestinians across the occupied West Bank on the day as violence surges across the territory. The head of the World Health Organization said that reports the Palestinian Red Crescent had received warnings from Israeli authorities to immediately evacuate al-Quds hospital in the Gaza Strip were “deeply concerning”. “The Palestinian Red Crescent report of evacuation threats to Al-Quds hospital in Gaza is deeply concerning,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. Two China-made drones recovered near International Border in Punjab’s Amritsar, Tarn Taran Two drones were recovered in two separate incidents near the International Border in Punjab’s Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, a BSF official said. On the basis of specific information, a search operation was conducted by the BSF near Daoke village in Amritsar on October 29. During the search, a Chinese drone was recovered from a field, the official said. On October 28 evening, another drone was recovered by the BSF in a joint operation with the Punjab Police in Dholan village in Tarn Taran. The recovered drone was a Chinese quadcopter, the BSF official said. Yet another attempt of smugglers to smuggle narcotics via drone was foiled by the BSF, the official added. PM Modi reiterates ‘Vocal for Local’ pitch Ahead of Deepavali celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 29 urged Indians to promote the “Vocal for Local” campaign and buy indigenous products in order to achieve the dream of Aatmnirbhar Bharat, or a self-sufficient India. During his monthly Mann Ki Baat address, Modi said that the ongoing Khadi Mahotsav had broken all its previous sales records. While sales had barely touched ₹30,000 crore in previous years, sales in this edition were about to reach ₹1.25 lakh crore, he said. Modi requested his audience to buy products made by local artisans during their travels for tourism or pilgrimage. The PM also paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel whose birth anniversary falls on October 31. On the same day this year, the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programme, a celebration to mark 75 years of Independence, is set to conclude after two and a half years. Soil collected from villages across the country will be brought to Delhi in pots for developing a garden called Amrit Vatika. On Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, the Union government will launch a nationwide organisation named Mera Yuva Bharat, to bring together young volunteers keen to participate in building a developed India. On November 15, the country will celebrate Janjaatiya Gaurav Diwas, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, an Adivasi independence activist and folk hero, the PM noted. He also paid tributes to Govind Guruji, who is a revered figure among the tribal and deprived communities of Gujarat and Rajasthan, ahead of his death anniversary on October 30. Modi also congratulated Indian sportsmen and women for their achievements in the recent Asian Games, Para Asian Games, and the Special Olympics World Summer Games. Praful Patel says Ajit Pawar diagnosed with dengue, taking rest; quashes Deputy CM’s ‘resentment‘ rumours Amid speculation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and rebel Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar being reportedly ‘upset’ with the tripartite Eknath Shinde-led government, senior leader from the faction Praful Patel, on October 29, said that Ajit Pawar was diagnosed with dengue and taking rest. “Mr. Ajit remains committed to his public service responsibilities. Once he has fully recovered, he will be back in full force to continue his dedicated public duties,” Patel said. Earlier this week, Ajit Pawar was present throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. However, his absence from Cabinet meetings again sparked rumours of friction with his allies – the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. Ajit Pawar also claimed he did not know about CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis travelling to Delhi to meet PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In Brief: Russian air defences shot down over 30 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula overnight on October 28, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on October 29. “The air defense systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula,” the Ministry wrote on Telegram. Local authorities in the southern Krasnodar region bordering the Black Sea also said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of October 29 but did not specify the cause. In Ukraine, the country’s air force said on October 29 it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 29 October 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Blast at convention centre in Kerala’s Kalamassery kills 2, several injured; former prayer group member surrenders claiming attack [Two people died and many others were injured in a fire that broke out inside a large convention centre at Kalamassery near Kochi after what eye-witnesses said were a series of blasts]( inside the hall around 9.30 a.m. The prayer meeting at the Zamra International Convention Centre was organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses, a restorationist Christian denomination. One of those attending the prayer meeting said there would have been around 2,000 people inside the hall. [The injured, including a child]( have been admitted to a private hospital near the blast site. The condition of five of them are reported to be serious. [Meanwhile, the investigation took a turn when a former member of the evangelist group surrendered at Kodakara, claiming responsibility for the attack.]( The police probe had already pivoted towards the inner workings of the almost cult-like religious organisation with a significant presence in Kerala. However, police were also pursuing other trails, including a car that suspiciously left the locality moments before the explosion and radical organisations inimical to international evangelical organisations that back Israel’s political line against Palestine. Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M.R. Ajith Kumar, said that the investigators were verifying the integrity of the suspect’s claim. They were also probing a video purportedly broadcast by the suspect, a resident of Kochi, on Facebook. The video, if true, seemed to suggest that profound differences of opinion in the religious organisation resulted in the “insider attack”. The person in the video claimed that he was a zealous group member for 16 years. However, he got disenchanted with the group’s teachings in 2017. The broadcaster claimed the group propagated anti-national sentiment and persuaded its followers not to enlist in the army or take up government employment. Moreover, he alleged the group’s messaging disparaged the country as a whole and encouraged members not to even partake in meals with people who were not Jehovah’s Witness members. Kerala Chief Minister [Pinarayi Vijayan called an all-party meeting]( to mitigate the fraught social climate precipitated by the blast. Vijayan was in New Delhi to attend a politbureau meeting of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), but embarked for Kerala after the incident. He termed the attack “extremely unfortunate” and when asked if the blast was a terrorist attack, said the police were probing all angles. However, CPI(M) State Secretary M. V. Govindan aired the possibility that the Kalamassery blast was a terrorist incident orchestrated to divert attention from Kerala’s empathy with the oppressed people of Palestine. State Health Minister Veena George indicated the death toll in the blast was likely to climb. Earlier in the day, [Kerala Police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb said the attacker used an improvised explosive device]( (IED). He also said the police would prosecute those who seek to inflame passions by spreading malicious misinformation on the Internet in the wake of the blasts. Israel-Hamas war | Israeli Army says ‘increased’ troop numbers inside Gaza The [Israeli Army has raised the number of troops fighting inside the Gaza Strip]( a spokesman said on October 29, as the military stepped up its war on Hamas in the tiny Palestinian territory. “Overnight we increased the entry of IDF forces into the (Gaza) Strip, and they joined the forces already fighting there,” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that the death toll due to the war in the region rose to 8,005 on the day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a jab at his intelligence chiefs on X (formerly Twitter), saying they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on October 7 but later retracted his comments and issued an apology. The remarks caused a political uproar and a rift within Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Netanyahu’s now-deleted post said: “At no time and no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding war intentions of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of army intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and interested in an arrangement.” In a second post on X about 10 hours later, Netanyahu wrote: “I was wrong,” adding that his remarks “should not have been made and I apologize for that.” “I give full backing to all the heads of the security branches,” he said. Thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza to take food and “basic survival items,” the UNRWA, U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said, in a mark of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order in Gaza. UNRWA’s schools across the territory have been transformed into packed shelters housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict. Meanwhile, a Jewish settler shot dead a Palestinian man harvesting olives near the West Bank city of Nablus, the victim’s family said. This brings the number of Palestinians reported killed by settlers to seven since the war. The Palestinian Health Ministry too said that Israeli forces killed three Palestinians across the occupied West Bank on the day as violence surges across the territory. The head of the World Health Organization said that reports the Palestinian Red Crescent had received warnings from Israeli authorities to immediately evacuate al-Quds hospital in the Gaza Strip were “deeply concerning”. “The Palestinian Red Crescent report of evacuation threats to Al-Quds hospital in Gaza is deeply concerning,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. Two China-made drones recovered near International Border in Punjab’s Amritsar, Tarn Taran [Two drones were recovered in two separate incidents near the International Border in Punjab’s Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts]( a BSF official said. On the basis of specific information, a search operation was conducted by the BSF near Daoke village in Amritsar on October 29. During the search, a Chinese drone was recovered from a field, the official said. On October 28 evening, another drone was recovered by the BSF in a joint operation with the Punjab Police in Dholan village in Tarn Taran. The recovered drone was a Chinese quadcopter, the BSF official said. Yet another attempt of smugglers to smuggle narcotics via drone was foiled by the BSF, the official added. PM Modi reiterates ‘Vocal for Local’ pitch Ahead of Deepavali celebrations, [Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 29 urged Indians to promote the “Vocal for Local” campaign]( and buy indigenous products in order to achieve the dream of Aatmnirbhar Bharat, or a self-sufficient India. During his monthly Mann Ki Baat address, Modi said that the ongoing Khadi Mahotsav had broken all its previous sales records. While sales had barely touched ₹30,000 crore in previous years, sales in this edition were about to reach ₹1.25 lakh crore, he said. Modi requested his audience to buy products made by local artisans during their travels for tourism or pilgrimage. The PM also paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel whose birth anniversary falls on October 31. On the same day this year, the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav programme, a celebration to mark 75 years of Independence, is set to conclude after two and a half years. Soil collected from villages across the country will be brought to Delhi in pots for developing a garden called Amrit Vatika. On Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, the Union government will launch a nationwide organisation named Mera Yuva Bharat, to bring together young volunteers keen to participate in building a developed India. On November 15, the country will celebrate Janjaatiya Gaurav Diwas, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, an Adivasi independence activist and folk hero, the PM noted. He also paid tributes to Govind Guruji, who is a revered figure among the tribal and deprived communities of Gujarat and Rajasthan, ahead of his death anniversary on October 30. Modi also congratulated Indian sportsmen and women for their achievements in the recent Asian Games, Para Asian Games, and the Special Olympics World Summer Games. Praful Patel says Ajit Pawar diagnosed with dengue, taking rest; quashes Deputy CM’s ‘resentment‘ rumours Amid speculation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and rebel Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar being reportedly ‘upset’ with the tripartite Eknath Shinde-led government, senior leader from the faction [Praful Patel, on October 29, said that Ajit Pawar was diagnosed with dengue and taking rest](. “Mr. Ajit remains committed to his public service responsibilities. Once he has fully recovered, he will be back in full force to continue his dedicated public duties,” Patel said. Earlier this week, Ajit Pawar was present throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. However, his absence from Cabinet meetings again sparked rumours of friction with his allies – the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. Ajit Pawar also claimed he did not know about CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis travelling to Delhi to meet PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In Brief: [Russian air defences shot down over 30 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula]( overnight on October 28, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on October 29. “The air defense systems in place destroyed 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of the Crimean peninsula,” the Ministry wrote on Telegram. Local authorities in the southern Krasnodar region bordering the Black Sea also said that a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the early hours of October 29 but did not specify the cause. In Ukraine, the country’s air force said on October 29 it had shot down five Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia overnight. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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