Graham Staines murder case: Chronology

 

Bhubaneswar: With the Supreme Court upholding the life term awarded by Orissa High Court to Dara Singh, convicted for murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, one of the most sensitive cases of the previous century came to an end after 12 years.

Following is the chronology of events:

January 22, 1999: Staines and his two minor sons Philip and Timothy burnt to death by a crowd while asleep in their station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district of Orissa.

January 29, 1999: Government of India issues notification under Section 3 of Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 setting up a Judicial Commission of inquiry to be headed by Justice D P Wadhwa, Judge of the Supreme Court.

March 25, 1999: Notification of January 29, 1999 was amended by another notification and the time for submission of report by the Commission was extended to five months from two months.

March 26, 1999: Proceedings of the Commission begins.

March 1999: Case handed over to the CBI from the state Crime Branch of Police.

June 21, 1999: Wadhwa Commission of inquiry submits its report holding Dara Singh guilty of the crime.

June 22, 1999: CBI submits chargesheet against 18 persons in the case.

January, 31, 2000: Dara Singh arrested in a forest in Mayurbhanj district.

September 4, 2000: Charges framed against the accused persons.

March 1, 2001: Trial in the case begins in the district and sessions court, Khurda designated CBI court.

Feb 1, 2002: Mahendra Hembram, an accused says in the court that he is the culprit and others are innocent.

April 5, 2003: Accused Dayanidhi Patra says in court that he was present when Dara set fire to the vehicle.

August 18, 2003: Trial ends.

September 15, 2003: Court convicts Dara Singh and 12 others. Acquits Aniruddha Dandapat alias Andha Nayak for insufficient evidence.

September 22, 2003: Court awards death sentence to Dara Singh and life imprisonment to 12 others.

May 19, 2005: Orissa High Court sets aside death sentence to Dara Singh and commutes it to life imprisonment. HC, however, retains life imprisonment awarded to Mahendra Hembram, another accused, while acquitting 11 others.

Jan 21, 2011: The Supreme Court upholds life imprisonment for Dara Singh by the Orissa High Court and his accomplice Mahender Hembram.

 

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NSCN on arms buying spree, building cadre

The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), has been accumulating a huge stockpile of sophisticated weapons as well as building their cadre strength since 1997 when the peace process started, intelligence sources have told HT. "In the last 13 years, NSCN-(IM) have more than trebled their weapon and cadre strength. It is the only Northeast insurgent outfit with more weapons than cadres," the official said.  The present strength is believed to be at least 5,000.The assertion is significant in the backdrop of the arrest and questioning of Anthony Shimray, head of NSCN-(IM)'s Alee company or the foreign affairs cell. The government says Shimray was in Kathmandu shopping for arms.Shimray, 49, now in the NIA's custody, is believed to have been arrested in Kathmandu airport on September 27 while purportedly on his way to New Delhi to participate in the ongoing talks. The government's version is that he was 'picked up' from the India-Nepal border.With the ongoing Chinese army's modernisation, a lot of discarded weapons are being stored in Shenyang, capital of the Liaoning Province.Intelligence sources say Chinese-origin weapons are being bought by Northeast-based insurgent groups in large numbers and are mainly sourced by the China Northern Industrial Corporation (also known as Norinco)."Another Bangkok-based representative of a white goods company is also involved," the source added."These companies sell arms only to sovereign nations and ask for an end-user certificate, which is furnished under the name of the Government of the People's Republic of Nagaland, the outfit's government-in-exile," the official said.Declining comment on the arms stockpiling, VS Atem, NSCN (IM) spokesperson told: "There is no doubt that the Naga movement being a peoples' movement has grown."

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