Orissa HC rejects Dara Singh’s bail plea in Roman Catholic priest murder case

First arrested in January 2000, Dara Singh, now 59 years old, is lodged in a Keonjhar jail after being convicted in three murder cases including the killing of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in January 1999

Updated on: Sep 7, 2022, 21:58:45 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: The Orissa high court on Wednesday rejected the bail petition of convict Dara Singh in the murder case of Roman Catholic priest Arul Doss in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district in 1999.

The Orissa high court has asked the three men convicted along with Dara Singh, who are out on bail to surrender, by September 23 (Orissahighcourt.nic.in)

In 2007, Dara alias Rabindra Kumar Pal along with three others was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mayurbhanj district and sessions court for killing Doss. Dara along with 20 other associates raided the Roman Catholic Church at Jamubani village of Mayurbhanj district on the night of September 1, 1999, and set it afire. Doss, the pastor, was attacked with bows and arrows and succumbed to injuries.

The high court also asked the three other convicts - Rajkishore Mahanta, Jadunath Mahanta and Cheema Ho – who are out on bail to surrender before the lower court by September 23.

First arrested in January 2000, Dara Singh, now 59 years old, is lodged in a Keonjhar jail after being convicted in three murder cases including the killing of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in January 1999.

In 2003, a trial court in Khurda district sentenced Singh to death and 12 others to life for burning alive Graham Staines and his two sons in Manoharpur village of Keonjhar district. Staines was sleeping with his sons, aged 8 and 10, in a station wagon in the forest when a mob led by Dara Singh set it afire. In 2005, the Orissa high court commuted Singh’s sentence to life and acquitted 11 others. In 2011, the Supreme Court upheld Singh’s life sentence.

In 2007, a trial court sentenced Singh to life for killing and then burning Muslim trader SK Rehman of Padiabeda village in Thakurmunda block of Mayurbhanj district. Singh’s criminal appeal in the high court against the trial court’s verdict was rejected in January this year.

Dara had pleaded that he be set free as he has spent 21 years inside the jail and considering his long custody, the punishment may be treated as life term.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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