Indian Christian leaders warn early release of Staines killer would embolden extremists
SC presses BJP-ruled Odisha to decide on convict’s remission
New Delhi: Christian leaders in India have expressed alarm over the possibility of the early release of a Hindutva activist convicted of murdering Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons alive, warning that his release could embolden extremist elements and further undermine minorities’ confidence in the Indian justice system.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Dara Singh, who was associated with the Hindutva organization Bajrang Dal, is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murders of Graham Staines and his sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, in Odisha. On January 22, 1999, Staines and his sons were sleeping inside a vehicle in Keonjhar district when a mob led by Singh attacked and set the vehicle on fire, burning the three alive. The killings became one of the most notorious cases of anti-Christian violence in India.
A trial court sentenced Dara Singh to death in 2003. The Orissa High Court commuted the punishment to life imprisonment two years later, and the Indian Supreme Court upheld the life sentence in 2011.
The Supreme Court is now pressing the Odisha government to decide Singh’s remission plea. During a hearing on September 8, a bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi expressed displeasure over the continued delay and warned that state officials could be summoned if no decision was taken. The court scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 17.
The court had earlier directed the Odisha Sentence Review Board to take a decision on Singh’s plea for premature release. However, the matter has remained pending, prompting the court to question the repeated delays.
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Church leaders and rights activists have voiced concern over the possibility of Singh’s early release, particularly as Odisha is now governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has been described by local Christian leaders as a supporter of Singh.
Father Dibakar Parichha, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, warned that Singh’s early release would weaken public confidence in the justice system, embolden extremist forces and heighten insecurity among religious minorities in India.
Rights activists have also pointed to Singh’s involvement in other religiously motivated killings. Father Ajay Singh of the Odisha Lawyers Forum said Singh is also serving life sentences in connection with the killing of Catholic priest Arul Doss and Muslim garment trader Sheikh Rahman.
Concerns have intensified following early release of Mahendra Hembram, who was convicted alongside Singh in the Staines killing and was released in 2024 on the so-called grounds of good conduct in prison.
