Christian Solidarity Worldwide( CSW) and other human rights agencies have been informed that Graham Staines, a 55 year old Australian missionary and his two sons, Timothy, 8 years of age and Philip, 10 , were burnt to death by Hindu militants belonging to Hindutva Parivar in the Keojhar district of Mayurbhanj (Orissa state, east India) at approximately 1am on Saturday 23rd January 1999.

The 55 year old Australian missionary had been working with leprosy patients for more than 30 years in India and was the secretary and treasurer of the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj.

The incident appears to have been well planned by Hindu militants. The militants split into two groups. One group blocked the doors of all the surrounding houses, in an attempt to prevent other participants at the meeting from helping Graham and his sons, whilst the other group set alight the vehicle in which Graham and his two sons slept after attending a prayer meeting in the village.

Graham's wife, Gladys, was not with the rest of the family when the incident happened. She has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or 'National Volunteer Corps', an ally of the BJP, India's Hindu Nationalist party, of the murder of her family. The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Home Minister, Lal Kishen Advani, are both members of the BJP.

This terrible atrocity comes at the end of another year of violence against Christians in India by Hindu militants, which culminated in the destruction of churches and chapels over the Christmas period.

The United Christian Forum For Christian Human Rights in India has released a document under the title ' Open White paper' which details 113 reported incidents of attacks on Christians in India in the last two years. Christian leaders are appalled at the inaction of the authorities amid increasing violence against Christians in India .

CSW has repeatedly urged the Indian government to outlaw the hate speech which incites violence, and to provide adequate protection to members of minority groups who are under increasing threat from Hindu militants. We now demand that the Indian government brings the violence against Christians to a halt, and will be briefing western politicians this week on these issues.

For further information, and a complete report on the persecution of Christians in India,please call Rev Stuart Windsor, CSW's UK National Director or Dr Simon Qadri on Tel: 0181 942 8810.