Dara on Death Row, 12 others get life

Gladys, Graham’s widow, said she did not want to comment on ‘‘the law taking its own course in crime and punishment’’ though she had forgiven the killers.

But Graham’s brother in Melbourne was dismayed over the death penalty for Dara, saying he should have been left to ‘‘answer to God for what he did.’’

Staines and his two sons were burnt to death while they were asleep in a station wagon in Manoharpur village in Orissa’s Keonjhar district on January 23, 1999, stunning the country and giving it a bad name abroad.

Dara and the other 12 convicted were present in the packed court room when the quantum of punishment was awarded by Khurda district and sessions judge Mahendranath Patnaik.

Those sentenced to life imprisonment were: Rajat Kumar Das alias Dipu Das, Mahendra Hembram, Renta Hembram, Ojen Hansda, Umakanta Bhoi, Kartik Lohar, Rabi Soren, Thuram Ho, Dayanidhi Patra, Mahadev Mahanta, Harish Mahanta and Surath Nayak.

Reacting to the sentence, Gladys Staines, Graham’s widow, said she had forgiven the killers of her husband and two children but ‘‘forgiveness and the consequences of the crime should not be mixed up.’’

‘‘I have no bitterness because forgiveness brings healing and our land needs healing from hatred and violence,’’ she said in a brief statement issued in Baripada.

‘‘No individual is above the law of the land. I have no comments regarding the law taking its own course in crime and punishment,’’ Gladys said.

An AFP report from Melbourne said John Staines, Graham’s elder brother, was dismayed over the death sentence for Dara. ‘‘I didn’t want to see the man put to death,’’ said John who had demanded mercy for Dara and the others involved.

‘‘He has to answer to God for what he did. You would never get over what happened if you can’t forgive. They committed a terrible crime. But the sort of thing that Jesus Christ espoused was that if we can’t forgive our fellow men, then how can he forgive us,’’ John said.

Dara was awarded death sentence under Section 302 of the IPC. All were sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), and seven years rigorous imprisonment under Section 435 (committing mischief by fire or explosive susstance) read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly in prosecution of a common object).

They were also awarded life sentence under Section 436 read with Section 149 and Section 302 read with Section 149. The pronouncement of punishment for the convicts was preceded by a 30-minute argument by defence and CBI counsels on the quantum of punishment.

The prosecution pleaded before the trial judge that extreme penalty should be awarded to Dara Singh and the others. Earlier, the defence counsels pleaded before the court that considering the socio-economic background of the accused and their age, lesser punishment be handed out.