A 26 year old man who was injured in the multiple blasts at a convention centre in Kalamassery in Kerala’s Ernakulam district passed away on Friday, November 17, taking the total death toll in the attacks to six. Praveen is the third in a family to die from the burn injuries in the blast, after his sister Libina, aged 12, and his mother Sally Pradeepan, aged 45. He had been under treatment with serious burn injuries at a private hospital in Kochi. Praveen and Libina's brother Rahul, aged 24, continues to remain in critical condition.
The blasts occurred on the morning of October 29, the third and final day of a convention of Jehovah's Witnesses at Kalamassery in Kochi. Dominic Martin, a man claiming to be a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and having been unhappy with its teachings, came forward to take responsibility for the attack. He has been under arrest since, and charged under sections of murder, Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
On the day of the blast, a 60 year old woman had immediately died with severe burns, and she was later identified as Layona Paulose from Kuruppampady. The same day, 53-year-old Kumari also succumbed to her injuries. She was from Thodupuzha of Idukki. A few days later, Molly Joy, a 61 year old Kochi native who suffered more than 70% burns in the attack, also passed away.
It was on the day after the attacks – October 30 – that the child Libina died, after suffering more than 95% burns. Libina's mother, 45-year-old Sally, remained critical for days before breathing her last on November 11. With Praveen's death, only two of the family remain alive - the seriously injured Rahul and his father Pradeepan, who had not been at the convention at the time of the blasts.
The Kerala cabinet announced on Wednesday, November 15, that it would pay Rs 5 lakh to each of the bereaved families from the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).