Killed in prayer Premium

On October 29, two blasts ripped through a large congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery in central Kerala, killing three people and leaving scores injured. M.P. Praveen reports on the tragedy that was allegedly carried out by a middle-aged man, apparently disgruntled with the beliefs of the group

Pradeepan K.K., 48, stares at the intensive care unit of Aster Medicity hospital near Kalamassery in central Kerala, in a grief-stricken daze. Clutching a handkerchief soaked in tears, he recalls the moment when his world turned upside down.

On the morning of October 29, Pradeepan’s wife Saly and their three children — Praveen, Rahul, and Libina — left home to attend the annual three-day zonal meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a millenarian Christian group, in Kalamassery, a municipal town located about 10 kilometres from Kochi city. They were there to pray and deliberate on the theme ‘exercise patience’.

Moments after the 2,000-odd attendees closed their eyes in prayer, two blasts ripped through the Zamra International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was around 9.30 a.m. “People ran helter-skelter as thick black smoke billowed from the fire in the hall,” recalls Ashwin, 14, from Kalady in Thrissur district, who had travelled for 50 km to reach the centre.

Soon, multiple fire tenders from three fire stations with a combined capacity to dispense over 40,000 litres of water rushed to the scene with 50 firefighters. They began dousing the flames.

Pradeepan, a daily wager cook, missed the meeting on that fateful Sunday morning; he had chosen to go to work instead.

“Pradeepan used to work at a local hotel. It closed down, so he was forced to seek work elsewhere,” says Xavier V., member of the Malayattoor ward of the Malayattoor-Neeleswaram grama panchayat along the eastern suburbs of Ernakulam district. This is the ward that Pradeepan hails from. “He was entrusted with cooking for some hostel inmates on October 29. Pradeepan’s family moved here two years ago. They lived in penury. They were always dignified.”

Pradeepan learned later that his youngest child, 12-year-old Libina, had succumbed to injuries; she was one of the three people who died in the tragedy. Saly, 45, and Praveen, 24, are battling for their lives. Saly has suffered over 50% burns on her body and Praveen, 60%. Rahul, 21, is also in hospital with burns, but doctors have told Pradeepan that he is stable.