‘That night will stay with me till death’: Village where Staines was killed lives with regret, fears Dara Singh’s return
At Manoharpur village, where Graham Staines and his two minor sons were killed in 1999
9 min readManoharpurJul 25, 2026 09:00 AM IST First published on: Jul 25, 2026 at 09:00 AM IST
Manoharpur lives with regret – regret of the fire that killed Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons on a winter night 27 years ago in this Santhal village of Odisha. The possibility now that the main accused, Ravindra Pal alias Dara Singh, a former Bajrang Dal member who is serving a life term, may get premature release has brought the memories back.
Along with apprehension of what it might mean for the village that, on the face of it, is a long way from that night of January 22-23, 1999 – dotted by pucca houses and roads; marked by a police station that came up after the Staines killings, and has not seen any communal violence since; and home now to many more tribals who have embraced Christianity, among them a juvenile who was convicted in the murders.
Source: Indian Express
