The Odisha government has rejected the plea of convict Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh for premature release from jail. He is serving a life sentence for the 1999 killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons who were burnt alive while sleeping in a vehicle in Manoharpur in Keonjhar district.

The State Sentence Review Board, which met on August 31, said it was “not inclined to recommend his (Dara Singh’s) premature release at this stage”.

On August 29, the Supreme Court had asked the Board to take a decision on his plea for premature release. On September 8, the bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi, questioning the delay over a decision, said it cannot be kept “lingering”.

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“Why are you unnecessarily adjourning the matter? Take a decision. You want to reject it, reject it. We will deal with it,” the bench said. The matter will be heard again on September 17.

The Board discussed the March 2025 recommendation of the Keonjhar district authorities who were of the view that Singh may be allowed premature release under certain conditions to maintain social harmony.

On August 28, the district authorities reported that on August 15, around 200-250 people associated with Dara Sena assembled outside the Keonjhar District Jail in connection with the proposed release of the convict, and provocative slogans were reportedly raised.

The Board, in its August 31 proceedings, said, “The district authorities report lacks specific recommendation and is inconclusive. In view of all the above-mentioned facts & circumstances, the Board is therefore not inclined to recommend his premature release at this stage.”

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On several occasions in the past – in November 2016, June 2019, December 2020, January 2022 and February 2023 – the Board had rejected Singh’s plea on various grounds including the “societal ramification in apprehension of communal disturbance in the area”.

Following repeated rejection of his plea, Singh, who has been in Keonjhar jail since his arrest in January 2000, moved the Supreme Court in July 2024, seeking premature release.

Singh, who was 37 when he was arrested, belongs to Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh. Handed the death sentence by a CBI court in September 2003, it was commuted to life imprisonment in June 2005 by the

Orissa High Court. This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011.