Odisha rejects Dara Singh's premature release plea in Graham Staines murder case
The Odisha government has rejected the premature release plea of Hindutva activist Dara Singh, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons in Keonjhar, officials said on Tuesday. Singh had sought early release on the grounds that he had already spent 25 years in prison.
The Supreme Court, which is hearing his plea, had directed the Odisha government to take a decision on his request. The state government rejected the plea at a special meeting of the State Sentence Review Board held on August 31, officials said.
The State Sentence Review Board decided that, “in view of certain facts and circumstances”, it was not inclined to recommend Singh’s premature release at this stage, officials said.
The 67-year-old is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6). The three were burnt alive while sleeping in a station wagon in Keonjhar district in January 1999.
Singh was initially sentenced to death by a Bhubaneswar district and sessions court. His capital punishment was later commuted to life imprisonment. Singh's real name is Ravindra Pal, and he belongs to Uttar Pradesh's Etawah.
The matter is scheduled to come up before the Supreme Court again on September 17.
Earlier in April, Mahendra Hembram, an aide of Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh and one of the convicts in the murder case, walked out of Odisha's Keonjhar jail after 25 years.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is the parent organisation of the Bajrang Dal, welcomed the decision to keep Hembram’s release from jail, calling it a positive development. VHP joint secretary Kedar Dash said, “It is a good day for us. We welcome the government’s decision,” The Times of India reported.
Hembram, now 50, was released after completing 25 years in prison, with his good conduct during incarceration cited as the basis for the decision, news agency PTI reported.
"Hembram has been released following a decision by the State Sentence Review Board. The prison directorate informed about it in a letter on Tuesday. He has been released after 25 years because of good behaviour in accordance with the rules," Jailer Manaswini Naik told the news agency.
As many as 51 people were arrested in connection with the case between 1999 and 2000, of whom 37 were acquitted within three years, The Indian Express reported.
Of the 14 accused who faced trial, 12 were acquitted, while Dara Singh and Mahendra Hembram were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Sep 15, 2026 18:34 IST
