CPI, CPI(M) Slam Move to Free Dara Singh in Graham Staines Case

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha units of CPI and CPI(M) have strongly opposed the premature release of Rabindra Pal alias Dara Singh, convicted for the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons.

The Supreme Court, on July 14, directed the Odisha government to decide on Singh’s remission plea within a month, with the next hearing scheduled for August 19.

Singh, now 63, has spent over 24 years in prison and claims repentance, citing “youthful rage” at the time of the crime.

Both Left parties warned that his release would erode public trust in justice and embolden communal forces.

CPI highlighted Singh’s alleged links to other communal violence cases, while CPI(M) stressed that freeing him would undermine democracy and secular constitutional values.

The parties also drew parallels with the Bilkis Bano remission reversal, cautioning that Singh’s release could aggravate communal tensions, caste violence, mob lynching, and crimes against women in Odisha.

Graham Staines and his sons were burnt alive in Kendujhar district in January 1999.

Singh was sentenced to death in 2003, later commuted to life imprisonment in 2005, and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011.

Co‑convict Mahendra Hembram was released in 2025 after 25 years for good behaviour.