New Delhi: More than 25 years after the killing of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons in Odisha, the case is back before the Supreme Court, with a question over whether convict Dara Singh could be released from prison.
“Under the zeal of youth, influenced by emotional reactions to the brutal history of India, the petitioner briefly lost his composure. He fled after the killings. About a year after the killings, the police eventually arrested him during a night raid on his hideout in a forest. “Missionaries are targeting our religion. They are converting Hindus through deceit and inducements. Our religion is in danger. That confidence did not hold up in court. Twelve others were awarded life imprisonment. Two years later, the Orissa High Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. The Staines killings were also not Singh’s only convictions. In one case, he was accused of leading a mob that set fire to a church. Catholic priest Arul Das was trying to escape the burning building when he was shot with an arrow and killed. Church leaders had alleged that the attacks were carried out at the direction of the Bajrang Dal. Singh denied being a member of the organisation. A commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge DP Wadhwa later concluded that he had carried out the attacks himself. His plea also cited his good conduct in jail and his expression of remorse. It is necessary for the court to look not only at the acts committed by him but also at the intention behind them. It should also be noted that he had no personal enmity against any of the victims,” it stated. The authorities have not informed the court of their decision so far. The state sought more time. A two-judge bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi expressed displeasure over repeated delays. “You take whatever decision you want to take. Reports about the possibility of Singh’s release have caused unease among sections of Christians. He could walk out of prison if the state government or the court grants remission. His past statements have also added to the unease. “When Hindus die, others do not cry. Then why should we cry when others die? Whatever happened was right. “The government should stop this. If it is not stopped, more people may be killed. “Staines’ murder was not an ordinary murder. It was a public act of violence intended to frighten and warn people. The murders of Father Arul Das and Sheikh Rahman carried the same message,” he wrote. He added, “It is now not important to see whether Singh will eventually come out of prison or not. What is important is how the government handles this decision and whether any assurance is given to minority communities.”
The police announced a reward of Rs 8 lakh for information that could help locate and arrest him, and posters were put up across Odisha. Months later, he gave an interview to an English-language magazine from prison in the year 2000. In 2003, a lower court sentenced him to death. It upheld the life sentence of his associate Mahendra Hembram and acquitted 11 others, saying there was not enough evidence to convict them. In January 2011, the Supreme Court upheld his life sentence and rejected the prosecution’s plea to restore the death penalty. In 2007, he was convicted in two other cases involving attacks on religious minorities in 1999. The police had registered 10 cases against him, including allegations that he hijacked trucks carrying cows belonging to Muslim traders. Staines’ wife, Gladys, stayed in India with their daughter Esther until July 2004. In July 2024, he approached the apex court seeking remission of his sentence. He argued that he should be released after spending more than 25 years in prison. At the previous hearing on August 19, officials told the court that the Sentence Review Board considering Singh’s plea was waiting for additional documents. The court said that if the board did not decide on the plea by September 2, it would decide the matter itself.
Reports said villagers helped him hide. Some supporters reportedly praised him as a “modern-day Tarzan who played with elephants and rode tigers”. He denied involvement in the killings, but said he “did not like Graham Staines” and had “led a movement against missionaries”. As a true Hindu, it is my responsibility to stop them,” he said. Singh also said, “Since I was probably the most famous name in this area, the police implicated me in the murders. He said he was “ready to become a martyr for the sake of Hindus” and believed he would never be convicted. In his interview, Singh had denied being “personally involved” in those incidents, although he had said, “My supporters may have done it. He had admitted that he was “actively involved in the movement against illegal cow trade and cow slaughter” and that it was necessary to stop it “at any cost”. She said she had “forgiven” Singh in the spirit of Christian compassion. “Forgiveness opens the way for healing,” she had said. The 62-year-old attributed his actions to the “zeal of youth” in his plea for early release. “The petitioner accepts his crimes committed over two decades ago and expresses deep remorse for them,” his petition said. If you don’t take a decision, we will take one,” the court said. In his interview, he said he had “no regret” over the killings and would “never regret it”. Whatever will happen will also be right,” he said. He also said that if released from prison, he would “start the same work again that I had been doing – opposing cow slaughter and conversions”. Anything can happen,” he said. In a recent article published on the Union of Catholic News (UCN) website, human rights activist and Christian political activist John Dayal said remission after decades in prison is “not unusual” in the country. He said the principle behind remission is humanitarian, with punishment intended to reform a person and give them an opportunity to return to society. He said the fears of religious minorities in Odisha are “not merely imaginary”, citing the history of violence against Christians in the state, including the 2008 Kandhamal riots, in which dozens were killed and thousands were forced to leave their homes.
Last year, the Supreme Court asked the Odisha government to decide on Singh’s remission plea.
The top court is hearing the case on the convict’s plea seeking remission of his life sentence. The killings were condemned around the world and became one of the most followed cases of violence against Christians in India. Staines and his sons had travelled to Manoharpur to attend a gathering. The mob set the jeep on fire and prevented them from getting out. Singh was accused of leading the mob. At the time, he and his accomplices associated with hardline groups had alleged that Christian missionaries were forcibly converting Dalits and tribal people to Christianity. The other case involved the killing of Muslim cloth trader Sheikh Rahman, who was beaten and burnt to death. Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment in both cases.
Singh, whose real name is Ravindra Kumar Pal, has been in prison since his arrest in 2000 and is serving a life sentence for the killings. Staines and his sons, aged six and 10, were burnt alive in their vehicle in Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district on January 22, 1999. He had spent around 30 years working with people suffering from leprosy and was living in Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, where he worked among local tribal communities. They were sleeping in their jeep when a mob of around 60 to 70 people surrounded the vehicle.
