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'Dara sought my help to
assault missionaries'

Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar

A witness in the sensational Staines murder case told a court in Bhubaneswar on Monday that the main accused Dara Singh had sought his help to assault Christians, including some priests who camped every year at Manoharpur in Keonjhar district during Makar Sankarnti celebrations.

Twenty-four-year-old Bidyadhar Mohanta told the court of district and sessions judge, Khurda, that Dara Singh and another accused Dipu Das were upset with the mass conversions being carried out by the missionaries in Orissa.

Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons -- Philip and Timothy -- were burnt alive by a mob allegedly led by Dara Singh on January 23, 1999 at Manoharpur while they slept in a jeep.

"Dara Singh told me about his plan in December 1998. He said he wanted to teach the Christian missionaries a lesson," Mohanta told the court.

Another witness Purna Mohanta told the court last week how Dara Singh had mobilised support to eliminate Saheb -- as Staines was popularly known in Manoharpur.

Mohanta told the court that he knew Dara Singh since 1994. "I first met him during my college days...I had very good relations with him," he said.

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