The Hindu : Dara Singh, 12 others convicted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2003

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Dara Singh, 12 others convicted

By Prafulla Das

Dara Singh, prime accused in the burning of the Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons, at the District and Sessions Judge court at Bhubaneswar on Monday. — Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

BHUBANESWAR SEPT. 15. A Designated Central Bureau of Investigation court today convicted the prime accused Dara Singh and 12 others for their involvement in the killing of the Australian missionary, Graham Stuart Staines, and his two minor sons in January 1999 in a tribal village in Orissa.

The District and Sessions Judge, Mahendra Nath Patnaik, who held the 13 accused guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, however, acquitted one accused, Anirudh Dandapat alias Andha Nayak, for lack of evidence.

The hearing on the sentence to be awarded to the convicts will take place on September 22. All the accused were present in the court.

The accused were held guilty four years and seven months after Staines and his two sons were burnt to death.

The Judge held the 13 accused guilty under Sections 120(B), 148, 435, 436, 302 and 149 of the IPC for offences, including criminal conspiracy and murder.

Heavy security arrangements were made in and around the court when the accused were brought to the courtroom. As presspersons and lawyers jostled for space inside, hundreds of people gathered outside to hear the verdict and have a glimpse of Dara Singh alias Rabindra Kumar Pal.

After the verdict, Dara Singh told presspersons that he was innocent and they would challenge the order in the High Court. "Chinta Nahin. Hum Nirdosh Hain aur High Court Jayenge. (I am not worried. I am innocent, and will move the High Court."

Apart from Dara Singh, the other accused who were convicted by the court are Dipu Das, Suratha Nayak, Mahendra Hembram, Renta Hembram, Harish Mahanta, Kartik Lohar, Mahadev Mahanta, Thoram Ho, Daya Patra, Ojen Hansda, Rabi Soren and Umakanta Bhoi.

Bana Mohanty, counsel for Dara Singh and the other accused, said they would challenge the order in the High Court after the trial court pronounced its judgment on the point of sentence.

When contacted, Gladys Staines, widow of Graham Staines, said: "I have full faith in the judiciary. The law should take its own course." Ms. Staines lives at Baripada in Mayurbhanj district where she is managing the affairs of the leprosy home which was being run by her late husband.

Mark Webslor, Consul to the Australian High Commissioner in India, who was present in the court, told presspersons that he would report about the development to the Australian Government which was attaching importance to the case.

Graham Staines and his sons, Phillip (11) and Timothy (7), were burnt to death when they were asleep inside a vehicle at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district of the State after attending a jungle camp, an annual gathering of Christians of the area for fellowship and teaching.

The formal trial in the case had come to an end on August 18 this year. It started on March 1, 2001 and 55 prosecution witnesses were examined, followed by 25 defence witnesses.

The case was registered by the local police but was later taken over by the Crime Branch of the State police and subsequently handed over to the CBI. The CBI had chargesheeted Dara Singh and 17 others submitting that there was enough evidence on record to show the involvement of the accused. However, 14 of the accused, including Dara Singh, faced trial in the court of Mr. Patnaik. Of them, 13 persons, including Anirudh Dandapat, were in judicial custody and one accused, Umakanta Bhoi, was on bail. Mr. Bhoi was taken into custody soon after the court pronounced its order.

Three accused in the case are still absconding, and another accused, Chenchu Hansda, who was tried by a separate court for being a minor, has been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

The Deputy Inspector-General of CBI, Loknath Behera, who conducted the investigation in the case, said the investigation was still open as all the accused had not been brought to justice.

Reacting to the judgment, the former CBI Director, R.K. Raghavan, said here that "it is very satisfying.

Related Stories:
Staines case: judgment on Sept. 8

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