Bhubaneswar: The Odisha state unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has strongly condemned the move by the BJP-led state government to seek the premature release of Dara Singh, alias Rabindra Pal Singh. Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two young sons, Philip and Timothy; the three were burnt alive in Keonjhar district in January 1999.
In a statement issued on Friday, the CPI asserted that any attempt to release Dara Singh would violate the spirit of justice, undermine the rule of law, and pose a serious threat to communal harmony and public order in Odisha. The party described it as a disturbing paradox that while the Supreme Court has considered the plea of a convicted murderer like Singh, numerous undertrial prisoners—including former JNU research scholar Umar Khalid—have remained incarcerated for years without a regular hearing or the commencement of a trial. The CPI urged the Supreme Court to exercise extreme caution while considering Singh’s case, noting that the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case was subsequently overturned following judicial review. The CPI further pointed out that Singh was not only convicted in the Staines murder case but was also linked to other incidents of communal violence and brutal killings. The party alleged that on August 26, 1999, a mob led by Dara Singh murdered Sheikh Rahman, a Muslim cloth merchant in Mayurbhanj, by chopping off his hands and burning him alive.
The party also cited the murder of Catholic missionary Father Arul Doss and the burning of his church a few days later, alleging that these attacks were perpetrated by the same extremist group. The party alleged that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had supported the demand for Singh’s release while serving as an MLA. It also claimed that organizations affiliated with the Sangh Parivar have consistently glorified Singh, raising concerns that the recommendations of the State Sentence Review Board could be influenced by communal considerations.
