Orissa court acquits Staines murder accused
Dara Singh
Jatindra Dash, Bhubaneswar March 22, 2001 14:00
Hrs (IST)
DARA Singh, the prime accused in the killing
of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons
in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district in January 1999, has been acquitted
in a case of burning a truck that was carrying cattle apparently for
slaughter.
A court official said that Singh and 11 other
accused were acquitted for the second time by Karanjia sub-divisional
judicial magistrate Prabhakar Mishra Wednesday for lack of evidence.
Karanjia, which is a sub-district, is about 300 km from Orissa's capital
Bhubaneswar. According to the prosecution, Singh and his associates
blocked a truck carrying 36 cattle at Asanbani Chak about 20 km from
Karanjia on August 16, 1998, and allegedly torched the vehicle after
setting the cattle free.
More than 500 people, who had gathered outside
the court, welcomed the acquittal announcement. Some even raised slogans
in support of Dara Singh, a police official said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Singh was acquitted in a truck looting
case, as no one came forward as a witness. Before he allegedly started
targeting Christian missionaries in protest against their conversion
drives, Singh had become a household name among tribals in Orissa's
northern Mayurbhanj district for stopping trucks and cattle traders
from distributing these animals for slaughter free of cost. He was
actively involved in the cow protection movement.
According to police, there are more than a
dozen criminal cases pending against Singh who gained further notoriety
for his alleged involvement in the sensational murder of Staines and
his two minor sons Philip and Timothy on the night of January 22,
1999, in Manoharpur in Mayurbhanj district. Staines and his two sons
were burned to death while they were sleeping in their jeep.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has
charged 14 persons, including Singh and a 14-year-old tribal boy named
Chenchu in connection with the case on the basis of recommendations
made by the Justice D.P. Wadhwa Commission of Inquiry. The trial in
the Staines murder case had started earlier this month in Bhubaneswar
and the next hearing is scheduled for the first week of April.
Singh is currently lodged in the Baripada jail
in Mayurbhanj district. Chenchu, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment
by a juvenile court, is living in a juvenile home in the state's Angul
district. Chenchu has appealed against his sentence, saying that the
order of the lower court is wrong, illegal and against the established
principle of law. India Abroad News Service
