Dara pleads innocence as bail plea is rejected

CBI counsel K Sudhakar sought CBI remand of Dara for 15 days. The judge, however, rejected the bail application, moved by Dara counsel Bana Mohanty and others and granted the CBI’s plea. This court is bound by the mandate of the Orissa High Court for facilitating availability of Dara before learned sessions judge, Mayurbhanj at Baripada between 11 to 20 of each month, the judge observed.

The courtroom was jam-packed and the authorities had made elaborate security arrangements in and around the court as precautionary measures.

Speaking to mediapersons, defence lawyer Bana Mohanty said Dara had not confessed committing any of the alleged crimes and the CBI has implicated him. He also alleged that Dara and his parents were tortured by the CBI and police officials.

Superintendent of Police of CBI, Calcutta, Loknath Behera, on the other hand,claimed that the CBI has enough evidence against Dara after making custodialinvestigation of the accused. He said CBI officials would try to get more evidences from Dara during further interrogation. “We are on a better footing. Trial on Dara will soon be completed,” Behera claimed.

Behera further maintained that 15 of the 18 accused including Dara who were charge-sheeted by the CBI in the Staines murder case have been arrested. The three accused who are absconding would be arrested soon, maintained the CBI SP.

Earlier, Dara expressed confidence that he would get a fair deal from the judiciary. “I have full faith in the judiciary. I am confident that I will get a fair deal from it,” said Dara, whose real name is Ravindra Pal Singh. He was speaking to a few mediapersons here soon after being produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate-cum-special chief judicial magistrate (CBI), Bhubaneswar.

Dara denied that he was involved in any of the murders. “I am not involved in any of these murder cases. I have been framed by the police in these cases,” he said, adding, he has no idea who killed them. He said he had goneto Satapada in Keonjhar the day Staines and his two minor sons were murdered.Dara, however, said he did not regret the murder of the Australian missionaryand his two minor sons.

He said Staines was engaged in conversion and all Christian priests in Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj district are doing the same. He denied that he was a Hindu fundamentalist but said he still opposed conversion.

Reiterating that he was not arrested by the police, Dara maintained he surrendered because the police was unnecessarily torturing innocent villagers including those belonging to the Mohanta community of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj district. He said that the police had beaten him up mercilessly soon after he surrendered but they stopped it later.

Dara said he was provided with two Oriya newspapers everyday inside the custody and a copy of the holy Ramayan and Gita. “I spent most of my time reading the Ramayan and Gita inside the cell,” said Dara, adding, he was notallowed to meet the press and his parents. He maintained he was only allowed to meet his lawyer.

Asked if he would like to join politics in future, Dara replied in negative.He also said he would not like to meet Glady Staines, wife of the Australian missionary who had told mediapersons to question Dara why did he kill her husband and two minor sons.