National

For Want Of A Scrap Of Paper

No organisation has been named as being behind the Staines killings, but Dara Singh's Bajrang Dal links are clearly indicated

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For Want Of A Scrap Of Paper
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The final report of the Justice D.P. Wadhwa Commission of Inquiry into the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons on the night of January 22 in Manoharpur village in Orissa may rule out the hand of any organisation in the ghastly killing. But the antecedents of the prime accused, Dara Singh, recorded by the commission clearly suggests that he was a Bajrang Dal-bjp sympathiser (although there was no clinching evidence for this) and was linked to the Bajrang Dal.

Here is evidence cited in the Wadhwa Commission report which reveals Rabindra Pal a.k.a. Dara Singh's allegiances:

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  • A letter dated November 21 from the Mayurbhanj SP to Special Branch IG, Cuttack, describes Rabindra Pal as an active member of the Bajrang Dal. He is also described as a leader of the Mahanta caste.
  • A memo from the Keonjhar SP to dig (Admn) notes that Dara Singh participated in camps run by the rss and was linked to the bjp and Bajrang Dal and was actively involved with these organisations in Ghatgaon, Turumunga and Patna.
  • Confidential weekly reports from the Mayurbhanj police on December 14, 15 and January 3 indicate that Dara Singh is a supporter of the Bajrang Dal.
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  • D.K. Mohapatra, additional director general of police (intelligence), deposed before the commission that Dara Singh appears to be a supporter or fellow-traveler of the Bajrang Dal or even of the bjp though not a card-holder of these organisations.
  • A case at the Patna police station,case No. 1/99,refers to him as an associate of the Bajrang Dal.
  • The past association of Dara Singh with the goraksha (cattle protection) committee is dwelt upon in the report.

    Misplaced fundamentalism is what the report cites as the major cause of the crime. Dara Singh, who had a history of actively participating in the goraksha movement was perceived by many police officers in the Keonjhar-Mayurbhanj area as having links with the Bajrang Dal. However, no investigating agency was able to come up with solid evidence to indicate that he was part of any organisation.

  • A police officer who worked with the commission and was part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the killing told Outlook that evidence in the form of records is difficult to come by since the Bajrang Dal does not maintain a members' list. However, he noted that if some more time had been given to the investigators, then perhaps the links of Dara Singh could have been better probed.

    Indeed, the SIT report as well as the submissions before the commission had brought out Singh's links. Mohan Sunder Mahata, the joint coordinator of the Bajrang Dal in Keonjhar district, told the commission that Dara Singh was a member of the Dal and had taken active part in detaining trucks carting cattle for sale to slaughterhouses. It was also revealed that Singh had come into contact with Sushil Chand Mahanta, the Bajrang Dal pramukh of Timrisahi. But these depositions do not find any mention in the final report.

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    The SIT's report, quoted in the commission's report, draws the following conclusions on Dara Singh:

  • Rabindra Kumar Pal a.k.a. Dara Singh is an activist/supporter of the Bajrang Dal. However, there is no documentary evidence to prove that he is a member or office-bearer of the Bajrang Dal.
  • Under the garb of cow protections, he has committed crimes against Muslim cattle traders and Muslim businessmen.
  • Dara Singh had campaigned for the bjp during the '98 parliamentary elections.
  • Dara Singh has been seen at rss rallies.
  • Any organisation's or authority's role would be known only after the arrest of Dara Singh and his close associates.

    Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission team led by D.R. Karthikeyan, director general (investigations), submitted its findings which have been quoted in the report. From the material available, the circumstances and the inferences, it appears that Dara Singh is the main culprit. There are indications available that he is a sympathiser of the Bajrang Dal.

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    The National Commission for Minorities also found the activities of Dara Singh, particularly relating to cow protection, linked with the campaign of the Bajrang Dal.

    One of the first reports on the crime was by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Sambalpur, submitted to the Orissa government on February 7. On the question of whether any group or organisation was involved, he concluded that it is very clear that Singh is a strong activist of the bjp. His associates have been committing crimes against minorities and are most likely supporters/activists of the bjp/Bajrang Dal.

    That Staines did not personally convert the tribals but was facilitating conversions through his preachings is clearly evident. Tidings, a newsletter published from Australia which records the activity of missionaries working abroad, had dispatches from Staines and his wife. One issue quoted in the report talks of the success of a camp in Ramchandrapur which was attended by 100 people and how some were baptised following the camp.

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    According to S.C. Bala, dsp, crime branch, the motive of the killing of Staines and his two children appeared to be that non-Christian people were aggrieved on the ground that Christian fathers/missionaries were converting the people in a deceitful manner by giving allurements.

    The camps organised in the jungles by Staines did invite the wrath of Hindu groups. The February 22, '98, issue of Tidings speaks of some people from a militant Hindu group who are persecuting the Christians came to the camp and were unable to disturb the meetings.

    Then again, the May 19 edition brings out Staines' fears of being targeted by fundamentalist groups. We have been told that a militant Hindu group plans to concentrate on Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts to turn Christians back to Hinduism. Pray for wisdom, grace and steadfastness for all God's children.

    The commission's report points out that on the basis of various intelligence reports emanating from the police, it does appear that the reference to 'militant Hindu group' has perhaps been to the Bajrang Dal. But with no conclusive evidence, the report doesn't delve too deep into the links of Dara Singh and goes by the affidavit of Pratap Sarangi, the state-level coordinator of the Dal, who stated that Singh was never associated with his outfit. He also stated that re-conversion to Hinduism is not one of the objectives of the Bajrang Dal. The report also cites a television interview in which Dara Singh denies that he is connected with either the rss or the Bajrang Dal.

    According to an investigating official, pinning down any organisation would be impossible without a detailed investigation. For one, the Dal does not even have an office at Keonjhar and so pinpointing its activists may be difficult. Also, for any case to hold before a court, one has to prove that Dara Singh was not acting of his own volition but on someone else's behalf. And though he may have claimed to be a Bajrang Dal supporter, that alone cannot be used to implicate the organisation in the killing.

    With merely circumstantial evidence and not a document to prove any larger conspiracy, the report states that there is nothing to suggest that there is the involvement of any organisation, even that of the Bajrang Dal, in the planning and the execution of the crime.

    As for Dara Singh, his local influence must have been considerable to organise a mob to launch the attack on Staines. Equally intriguing is the fact that he has been able to evade the police net despite a manhunt for him. Perhaps after his arrest hitherto unknown details of the gruesome case will come to light.

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