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Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar
The bail petition of 13 accused in the Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines murder case was rejected on Tuesday by the district and sessions judge, Khurda, Bhubaneswar.
Judge Mahendranath Patnaik Tuesday afternoon rejected the petition of the accused, moved by defence counsel Bana Bihary Mohanty.
The petition, moved by Mohanty on Tuesday morning, was opposed by Central Bureau of Investigation counsel S Sudhakar Rao.
This is the first time that a bail petition was moved by the defence counsel of the 13 accused in the murder case.
Mohanty said that he had moved the petition as none of them was facing criminal charges.
Of 14 accused, one has been granted bail by the Orissa court in February last year.
The defence counsel did not move the bail petition of main accused in the case, Dara Singh, as he is charged for committing a non-bailable offence.
Rao told rediff.com that he opposed the bail petition as if the accused would be granted bail, the vital prosecution witness listed by the CBI would not be interested in the case.
The court rejected the plea on the basis of the CBI's argument that the witnesses will be afraid of the accused if granted bail, he said.
On the night of January 22, Staines and two minor sons were burnt to death by Dara Singh and his associates in Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa.
EARLIER REPORT Dara's trial put off to April
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