BHUBANESWAR: The sub divisional
judicial magistrate (SDJM) on Tuesday recorded the statements of four witnesses
on the second consecutive day of the second phase hearing of the murder of
Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons by a mob on January
22, 1999.
The court recorded the statements
of Manoharpur church’s father Paul Murmu, villager Birendra Purty, Village
Choukia Shyamsunder Hansda, Biranchi Maharana on the second day. They were
asked about actual incidents of the day and who are the people had visited
Manoharpur that night.
Defense counsel Ban Bihari Mohanty
said that Gladys Staines, wife of Graham Staines, would be summoned for the
next hearing that will be held during last week of October.
On the first day, the court had
recorded statements of four witnesses. Gladys, who was summoned to present
during hearing, was absent.
On May 17 this year, the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had
arrested Ghanshyam Mahanta (40) from Gayalmunda and Ramajan Mahant (32) from Bhalughera
in Keonjhar district, while third accused Budhia Nayak of Nischintapur in
Keonjhar is still at large.
Notably, Graham Stewart Staines and
his two minor sons Philip and Timothy were burnt to death by a mob on January
22, 1999 while they were sleeping inside their vehicle in Manoharpur village of
Keonjhar district.
After the case was handed over to
the CBI, 15 persons had been arrested
including a juvenile. In September 22, 2003, the Khurda District and Sessions
court had sentenced to death Dara Singh, awarded life imprisonment to 12 others
and acquitted Aniruddh Dandapath. The Odisha High Court on May 19, 2005
commuted the death penalty awarded to Dara to life imprisonment after Dara
appealed against the district court verdict. The HC had upheld the life
imprisonment to Mahendra Hembram and acquitted 11 other accused.
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