Earlier, too, the apex court had sought the view of the Odisha government on Dara’s Singh’s early release but the state government had sought 45 days’ time. The deadline is almost over.

The Spine-Chilling Incident

Staines, along with his two minor sons, was burnt alive to death inside a station wagon vehicle on the night of January 22-23, 1999. The horrendous crime had stunned the entire world.

Reporting on the unspeakable act from Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district had somehow remained shrouded by various interpretations as the then media, except two platforms, could not reach the spot on January 22, which is roughly 150 km from the capital, Bhubaneswar.

However, this reporter, then representing a leading national electronics media channel, along with another national channel drove to Manoharpur at the dead of the night negotiating arduous tracks through thick forests.

It was almost past midnight when we reached the village, which was palpably bathed in a perplexing silence. The silence was too disturbing.

As we passed through the row of houses flanking the pathway, we could see men and women sitting on their verandahs, each a picture of shock and mental torment.

On our right hand, we saw what we had heard. The sight was flabbergasting and rendered each of us speechless. The station vehicle was still on fire from below and its deflated tyres were still in smoldering. Fumes were still emanating from inside the vehicle.

Australian missionary Graham Staines with his family. His two minor boys were burnt alive along with him in 1999 in Odisha, by Bajrang Dal activists led by Dara Singh. (File photo.)

A little away from the vehicle, we could catch a glimpse of the charred remains of three bodies, simply indistinguishable and nerve wracking. Two small corpses and one that of an adult.

The police had already reached the site of the crime and were preparing to send the mortal remains in a police van to Bhubaneswar.

Before that, the perpetrators of the heinous crime, led by Dara Singh, the main accused and his accomplices, had fled chanting ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ as if self-cheering the horrendous act.

We gathered from the benumbed villagers that when the vehicle, stuffed with hay stacks, was on fire, the gang led by Singh, armed with weapons, did not allow any villager to come near the burning vehicle.

The villagers saw two little hands faintly visible, desperately banging the windscreens for help. But the screams were lost in the din of ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ chants by the killers.

It was late evening on January 22, 1999, and Staines was reportedly holding some kind of formalities or feast after some conversions to Christianity. As we could gather from the villagers, mostly from the tribal community, Staines had been active in Manoharpur and in a few adjoining pockets for seeking conversions.

That night was different. Little did Staines realise that a plan was being hatched by a gang of about 20 people led by Dara Singh to attack him. The missionary, perhaps, had no inkling of it and had brought along his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6).

The seething vengeance of Dara Singh and his accomplices nearly exploded into a massacre. They stuffed haystacks underneath the vehicle in which the three were sleeping and set it on fire. A few men and women of the village told this reporter how a rage of revenge became cataclysmic when three live human beings (including two minors) were burnt to death alive before the entire village. Humanity was literally shamed.

The perpetrators stood on guard till the indescribable end. “We had no courage to dare the armed gang and douse the inferno where three souls were being charred to death”, I recall a senior villager called Suresh Hembram confiding to this reporter.

“We felt guilty that we were made mute onlookers despite the heart wrenching sight when, from a distance, we could faintly make out the movements of the three caught in the blaze inside the burning vehicle, banging the windscreens for help” whispered Sebati Majhi, an old woman of the village in who was in tears and panic-struck by the horrific scene.

Dara Singh alias Ravindra Pal was known to be a Bajrang Dal activist who worked in that area against cow transportation to other states because cow slaughter was banned in Odisha. Singh, as per the government counsel, often resorted to brutal ways to punish cattle-laden truck drivers.

After committing the crime in Manoharpur, Singh went underground for a month before being arrested.

Singh, the main accused in the triple murder, was convicted and sentenced to death by a CBI court in 2003. The Orissa High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in 2005. The decision of the High Court was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011.

Many human right activists expressed their annoyance after the High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment for such an unforgivable crime considered as “rarest of rare”.

He (Dara) promised to “give back to the society” through “service-oriented actions”. He submitted that he had undergone more than the qualified period of sentence of 14 years under the April 19, 2022 remission policy in Odisha.

According to Wikipedia, Dara Singh was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  He was also an activist of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The police reported that Dara Singh was an active member of the ‘Go Suraksha Samiti’, an initiative financed and implemented by VHP and the Bajrang Dal.

We drove to Balasore 150 km from Bhubaneswar a week after the tragedy to meet Gladys Staines, wife of Graham Staines, who politely received us and was looking completely crest fallen. At times, she appeared numb and would walk inside and come back after washing her face.

The substance of her reaction was “what can I say, and from my side I simply forgive him (the killer)”. The bereaved mother and wife sounded spiritual.

Now that the apex court has sought the view of the Odisha government,  which is “presently under the BJP rule, it seems a bit likely that the person behind of world’s one of most brutal acts in the history of crime, may get a nod for premature release”, Rabi Das, who as a journalist has been working on human rights also, told this reporter.

“Let’s wait. It would be premature at this time to predict the Odisha government’s response to the apex court’s query on the premature release of Dara”, said Aravinda Satpathy, a senior advocate of the High Court of Orissa.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Odisha with over 40 years of experience in the profession.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Odisha: Graham Staines’ Brutal Murder; Mystery Hangs Over Dara Singh’s Release appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Accolades and allegations have been running simultaneously in the past six months of the new government.

The signature slogan that placed BJP in the seat of power was “women’s empowerment” under the banner of the Subhadra Yojana to give direct cash benefits.

Before one assesses the success or failure of the scheme, let’s take a cursory glance at the details of the eligibility criteria that would help transact the implementation of the scheme.

Majhi had announced the implementation of the Subhadra Yojna that would give direct benefit to one crore women of Rs.50,000 over five years.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, his birthday.

“We will introduce Subhadra Yojana, under which every woman will receive a cash voucher of Rs 50,000, which can be encashed over two years,” the Chief Minister had said. After the first Cabinet meeting of the new BJP government in June, he announced its roll out within 100 days.

But critics hold a different view. They feel that at first glance, the scheme appears rosy as all women are aimed to benefit from the scheme.

But the flip side is that this may not be the case, as the revised eligibility criteria has fixed the age bracket of beneficiaries between 21 and 60 years, and has also increased the period from two years to five.

Initially, it appeared that all women would get the bonanza. However, that is not the case. The revised eligibility criteria are proving to be a dampener.

The others excluded in the revised criteria include those receiving financial aid of Rs. 1,500 per month or more than Rs. 18,000 per annum under any government scheme, those filing income tax, owners of more than 5 acres of irrigated land, elected members of Assembly or local bodies, and owners of four-wheelers, except tractor, and other small light goods vehicles.

This has become an issue that the Opposition parties have been raising in the House and outside. The Assembly session saw disruptions as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress disrupted proceedings last Monday alleging that women were being cheated by the Majhi government.

BJD chief whip Pramilla Mallick said the new criteria would exclude a majority of women. “The BJP had promised Rs. 50,000 over two years, but they will get Rs.10,000 in two instalments,” senior Congress leader Taraprasad Bahinipati said.

Meanwhile, a list of 2.67 lakh women who were turned down under the scheme has been distributed in each block. Approximately five lakh women have been denied the Subhadra benefit because their Aadhaar cards are not linked to their bank accounts.

In addition, a huge number of women failed to obtain the first benefit due to server problems, which resulted in re-applications by them.

On the other hand, the BJP dispensation, as alleged by BJD, has literally undone the Mission Shakti scheme of the previous BJD government, as 70 lakh women have been deprived of the monetary benefits for the past six months.

“It is unfortunate that the BJP government in Odisha has pushed Mission Shakti to the wall taking away 70 lakh women’s sustenance in last six months,” alleged former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, adding that “BJD would fight for the women nevertheless”.

“The ambiguity is so high that it can puzzle any analyst. The ruling apparatus is giving statements which are further creating confusion. It is clearly an attempt to obfuscate the implementation process,” Rabi Das, senior journalist and political commentator, told this writer.

The other promise made by the BJP government was regarding farmers. The “double engine” government had committed to enhance the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy. Pending that, it had announced a bonus of Rs 800 to each farmer. But to the disappointment of farmers, millers were stopped from entering the mandis.

On the inflation issue, as anywhere else, lassan (garlic) prices are touching the sky, potatoes and onions have become luxury items. There seems to be no mechanism to put any check on the prices of essential commodities.

While taking oath as Chief Minister six months ago, Majhi has, as on date, not made a single visit to the capital city, which is in an abject condition as far as civic facilities are concerned.

“Instead, he (CM) air dashes to Delhi every fortnight”, commented Das.

During his tenure as Chief Minister, BJD’s  Patnaik had made Odisha a sports destination by organising two Hockey World Cups, besides a world class International Junior Football tournament. A world class badminton stadium had also been built. The present Majhi dispensation, however, seems busy only painting saffron colour in the state, but not able to dispense with the green (BJD) colour altogether, say critics, terming his tenure so far as a “failure”.

The past six months under Majhi’s rule show that the Chief Minister is under tremendous pressure and has nothing in his lexicon as defiance, hence everything is being left to the whims of some people who are building up a propaganda for PM Modi with Majhi as a mere mascot, say critics.

“After all, Mohan Charan Majhi has been installed to govern, but even if he wants to do something, he cannot firewall himself from what his saffron master thinks”, said Das, adding that “six months is a very short stint to assess the role of a man”.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Odisha.  

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Odisha: 6 Months in Power, ‘Double-Engine’ BJP Govt Looks Button-Holed appeared first on SabrangIndia.