Dara Singh, Staines killers convicted (LEADS) By Jatindra Dash, Indo-Asian News Service
Bhubaneswar, Sep 15 (IANS) Dara Singh, the key accused in the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, was Monday convicted here along with 12 others for the horrific killings. District and Sessions Judge Mahendra Nath Patnaik said he would announce the sentence on September 22. He acquitted one suspect, Aniruddha Dandapat, for lack of evidence, court sources told IANS. Singh faces a possible death penalty. The judgement was given in the presence of lawyers, journalists and several others who had crowded the court where the case was being tried for the last one and a half years. The verdict came four and a half years after the murders in Manoharpur village of Orissa's Keonjhar district, 400 km from here. On January 22, 1999, Staines, 58, and his two minor sons, 10-year-old Philip and six-year-old Timothy, were torched to death while they were sleeping in their jeep by a mob of Hindu zealots led by Dara Singh. The act was strongly condemned in India and around the world. Staines had been staying in Baripada district, 270 km from here, since 1965, working among leprosy patients. He was also the convenor and treasurer of the Evangelical Missionaries Society. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the killings, charged 18 people, including Singh. Although 16 people were finally arrested in the case, Singh was nabbed by police almost a year after the incident. One of the accused, 14-year-old Sudershan Hansda alias Chenchu was sentenced to 14 years' imp1risonment in October 2000. Chenchu's case was split from the others as he is a juvenile. Chenchu has appealed the verdict. The Staines murder trial was one of the longest trials the state has witnessed, with over 80 witnesses testifying before the court, defence lawyer Syamananda Mohapatra told IANS. --Indo-Asian News Service ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
