Dara Singh (murderer)
Encyclopedia
Dara Singh is a Bajrang Dal
Bajrang Dal
The Bajrang Dal , a hardline and militant Hindu organization in India, is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is based on the ideology of Hindutva. Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, India, it has since spread throughout India...

 member who was convicted for leading the religious mob who murdered Australian Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 Graham Staines
Graham Staines
Dr. Graham Stuart Staines was an Australian Christian missionary who along with his two sons Philip and Timothy were burnt to death by a gang while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa, India on January 1999...

 and his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) on 22 January 1999. The Staines were sleeping in their station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district (about 400 km from Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

), India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 when the militants attacked and set the vehicle on fire, prevented even the children from escaping and murdered all three.

Singh was earlier involved in the cow protection movement
Cow protection movement
The Cow protection movement was the movement that demanded end of cow slaughter in British India. The movement gained momentum with the support from Arya Samaj and its founding father Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Swami Dayananda and his followers travelled across India which led to the...

 of the Bajrang Dal
Bajrang Dal
The Bajrang Dal , a hardline and militant Hindu organization in India, is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is based on the ideology of Hindutva. Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, India, it has since spread throughout India...

 and had earlier targeted Muslim cattle traders. The Wadhwa Commission stated that the Bajrang Dal was not involved in the murder of Staines, justifying its non-examination of the role of the Bajrang Dal on the grounds that the Dal was a peaceful and legal organisation.

Singh was also charged in the killing of Muslim trader Shaikh Rehman at Padibeda village in Karanjia
Karanjia
Karanjia is a town and a Notified Area Council in Mayurbhanj district in Indian state of Orissa.-Geography:Karanjia is located at . It has an average elevation of 389 metres . Karanjia is the sub-divisional headquarters of Panchpidh Subdivision of Mayurbhanj district of Orissa.-Demographics:As...

 sub-division of Mayurbhanj district
Mayurbhanj District
Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Orissa state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Orissa by area. Baripada city is the district headquarters. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Orissa , after Ganjam and Cuttack.-History:Mayurbhanj District was formed...

. and in the murder of a Christian cleric, Arul Das, in Jamboni village in the same district. Das was killed by an arrow as he was escaping after his church was set on fire. Singh is widely perceived by Hindutva
Hindutva
Hindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...

 activists to be the Sangh Parivar
Sangh Parivar
The Sangh Parivar refers to the family of organisations of Hindu nationalists which have been started by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or are inspired by its ideas. The Sangh Parivar represents the Hindu nationalist movement. It includes the RSS and several dozen smaller...

's most lethal and violent figures and lauded by them as the Hindu Dharma Rakshak (Defender of the Hindu faith).

Background

Dara Singh was born as Ravinder Kumar Pal, the son of Mihilal Pal of Kokara, Itawah, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 and stayed for a brief period in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, before coming to Baliposhi, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

 in 1989. It has been alleged that over time he became associated with the Bajrang Dal
Bajrang Dal
The Bajrang Dal , a hardline and militant Hindu organization in India, is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and is based on the ideology of Hindutva. Founded on 1 October 1984 in Uttar Pradesh, India, it has since spread throughout India...

 and launched a campaign against cow slaughter and religious conversions. Singh's base of operations was the relatively affluent Padiabeda village in Mayurbhanj district
Mayurbhanj District
Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Orissa state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Orissa by area. Baripada city is the district headquarters. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Orissa , after Ganjam and Cuttack.-History:Mayurbhanj District was formed...

, a Hindu nationalist stronghold. He was charged in several cases where trucks carrying cows to slaughter had been hijacked and looted. By redistributing these cows among the locals, he had achieved a degree of popularity among the tribals, and was also becoming a political figure. He had a small loyal band that was increasingly involved in violent opposition to what they perceived as anti-Hindu forces.

In September 1998, a cattle truck was looted and torched, and the trucker's assistant, Shaikh Imam was battered to death in Godabhanga Ghati in the Mayurbhanj district. Singh was charged in this case and eventually exonerated by the Baripada District and Session's Court in Mayurbhanj district on October 2006, due to lack of sufficient evidence and hostile witnesses.

On 26 November 1999, Shaikh Rahman, a Muslim garment merchant was tortured and had his hands severed, before being burned to death at Padiabeda village. The body was then set aflame and incinerated, to prevent his family members from recovering it. The incident occurred near the Thakurmunda police station in the district. Singh and his associate, Buluram Mohanty was indicted in connection with this killing. In October 2007, the Baripada District and Sessions Court in Mayurbhanj district, convicted Singh of Rahman's murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while acquitting 23 others on grounds of insufficient evidence.

In September 1999, Catholic priest Arul Das was murdered in Jamabani village in Mayurbhanj district. Singh was charged in this case as well, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2007, along with associates Chena Hao, Rajkishore Mohanta, and Jadunath Mohanta.

Staines' murder

On 22 January 1999, a mob of Hindu Adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...

s led by Singh attacked the station wagon inhabited by Graham Staines and his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district. Chanting Jai Bajarang Bali, the mob set fire to the station wagon and the Staines' were burned to death.
Other perpetrators in the killing of Graham Staines included Bhimasen Mahanta, Rajat Das, Mahendra Hembram and Chenchu Hansda (a minor). The CBI had chargesheeted total 18 persons in the case in June 1999, saying there was a prima facie case against the accused for commission of the offence under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Of those formally sentenced to life imprisonment, only Hembram was acquitted. In September 2003, the Khordha Sessions Court sentenced Singh to death for his role in the murders.

Subsequent to his arrest, his supporters formed several organisations, including Dara Singh Parijan Suraksha Samiti (Council for Aiding the Family of Dara Singh), Dharmarakhyak Sri Dara Singh Bachao Samiti (Committee to defend Dara Singh, the Protector of our Religion), Dharmarakshak Dara Singh Sahayta Samiti (Committee to assist Dara Singh, the Protector of our Religion) and Dara Sena (Dara's Army), claiming to espouse his cause. These groups describe him as the saviour of Hinduism. There was also a "Free Dara Singh" website. Several small booklets with titles like Mono Ku Chhui Gola (He Has Touched Our Hearts), or Mu Dara Singh Kahuchi (This is Dara Singh Speaking), eulogising Dara and criticising the activities of Staines and other Christian missionaries, are circulating in the region.

Supreme Court Verdict

In May 2005, the Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

 High Court set aside the death sentence, stating that it could not be demonstrated that any specific action by Singh himself had caused the deaths. On 19 March 2007, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...

issued notice to the CBI on a petition filed by Mahendra Hembram challenging the Orissa High Court verdict, saying that his confessional statement before the trial court, in which he had said that he killed Graham Staines, should be considered in total.

In August 2005, Singh filed a special leave petition with the apex court, seeking acquittal. He asserted that his case was based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence, claiming that he had not led the killings. The Supreme Court of India admitted his appeal in October 2005. In February 2007, Singh petitioned the Supreme Court to release him on bail, stating that he was the primary livelihood earner in his family, including his dependent 75 year old mother. In October 2007, his petition was denied by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court upheld the verdict of life imprisonment for Dara Singh, the chief accused, on 21 January 2011. The Supreme Court dismissed the CBI's call for the death penalty, explaining that the death penalty could only be imposed in the "rarest of rare" cases

The Supreme Court bench of Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan stated "Though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity". The Court stated "Our concept of secularism is that the State will have no religion. The State shall treat all religions and religious groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their individual right of religion, faith and worship." Yet, condemning religious conversions, the Court also said "It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone`s belief by way of `use of force`, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other".
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