Odisha Panel Recommends Release of Dara Singh, Convicted in 1999 Missionary Murders
The Odisha State Sentence Review Board has recommended the release of Dara Singh, the prime convict in the 1999 murder of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons. Singh has spent over 26 years in prison and is currently lodged in Keonjhar district jail. The recommendation, based on 'good behaviour', now awaits final approval from the state government.
On January 22, 1999, Graham Staines and his sons, Philip (11) and Timothy (7), were sleeping in a van in Manoharpur, Keonjhar district, when a mob led by Singh allegedly locked the vehicle from outside, poured inflammable material, and set it on fire. Staines, who ran a shelter for people affected by leprosy, was targeted amid allegations of forced conversions—claims later found unsubstantiated by a judicial commission headed by Supreme Court Justice D. P. Wadhwa.
The crime drew global outrage and led to the arrest of 51 individuals. During the trial, 37 were acquitted, and 14 were convicted, including Singh. The Orissa High Court later acquitted 11 more. Singh's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. If released, no one convicted in the case will remain in prison.
The Sentence Review Board, in its July 2025 meeting, considered Singh's case among 14 deferred matters. The board had earlier sought a fresh police report from Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh, his home district, as the last report dated back to 2022. In September 2025, the board considered 107 cases, recommending 18 for release and rejecting 75. All 18 were released in November 2025.
In 2022, Suresh Chavhanke, editor-in-chief of Sudarshan TV, led a campaign for Singh's release and was denied permission to meet him in jail. Mohan Charan Majhi, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and then MLA from Keonjhar, had sat outside the jail demanding his release.
