The Kerala police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation following a complaint from the public relations officer of 'Jehovah's Witnesses', a Christian religious group, that he received a threatening international phone call.
The caller allegedly warned that members of the group who testify against the accused in the Kalamassery serial blast case would be killed.
According to the complaint filed at the Kalamassery police station, the caller also threatened to plant bombs at all conclaves and prayer halls where the PRO conducts religious services.
The PRO said he received the call from a Malaysian number at 9.57 pm on May 12, police confirmed.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 196 (that deals with promoting enmity between different groups) and 351(3) (that deals with criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is underway, they said on Wednesday.
The threat comes as the trial is about to begin in connection with the October 2023 blasts during a gathering of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kalamassery here, which left eight people dead and several others injured.
Hours after the blasts, a man named Dominic Martin--allegedly an estranged member of the group--surrendered to police in Thrissur district, claiming responsibility for the attack. He was later arrested.
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian religious group that traces its origins to 19th century America.
According to historians, Jehovah's Witnesses was considered an offshoot of the International Bible Students' Association, founded by Charles Taze Russell in Pittsburgh in the year 1872.
Unlike mainstream Christian denominations, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the Holy Trinity (God, the Father; God, the Son Jesus; and God the Holy Spirit) but worship Jehovah as "the God of the Bible and the Creator of all things". -- PTI
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