Dara Singh (Bajrang Dal)

This article is about the convicted murderer. For the wrestler and film actor from Punjab, see Dara Singh October 1962 - July 2012.

Ravinder Kumar Pal;(2 October 1962 - 12 July 2012) is a person who was convicted for leading the religious mob who murdered Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines 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), India 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 of the Bajrang Dal 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 sub-division of Mayurbhanj district. 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 activists to be the Sangh Parivar'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 and stayed for a brief period in Delhi, before coming to Baliposhi, Orissa in 1989. It has been alleged that over time he became associated with the Bajrang Dal and launched a campaign against cow slaughter and religious conversions. Singh's base of operations was the relatively affluent Padiabeda village in Mayurbhanj district, 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

Dara Singh, who burned Christian missionary Staines at Orissa few years ago, is a role model to us. There are many Dara Singhs in Kundapur who can foil the attempt to convert.

— Krishnaprasad Adyanthaya, managing trustee of Sri Mookambika Temple in Kollur, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka (July 2007)

On 22 January 1999, a mob of Hindu Adivasis 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 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 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".

References

• Banerjee, Ruben (20 September 1999). "In the Land of Dara". India Today. Retrieved 11 October 2010. {{cite journal}}: More than one of |work= and |journal= specified (help)
• Chatterji, Angana P. (2009). Violent gods: Hindu nationalism in India's present : narratives from Orissa. Gurgaon, India: Three Essays Collective. ISBN 81-88789-67-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help).