On 18 April authorities in India’s Odisha State released from prison Mahendra Hembram, who was convicted for his role in the killing of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, in 1999.
Hembram, 50, was released on the grounds of good behaviour after spending 25 years in prison. Officials say that the release was in accordance with the recommendations of the Odisha State Sentence Review Board based on the guidelines of the premature release policy.
Hembram's release was welcomed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu organisation, who called it 'a good day'. In an interview with the Press Trust of India, Hembram also claimed he was innocent, stating ‘I spent 25 years in jail after being falsely implicated in an incident related to religious conversion.’
Graham, Philip and Timothy Staines were burnt to death by Hindu extremists on 23 January 1999. Mr Staines was 55 years-old at the time and had been working with leprosy patients in India for more than 30 years. The killings were described by the then-President of India Kocheril Raman Narayanan as ‘a monumental aberration of time-tested tolerance and harmony. The killings belong to the world’s inventory of black deed.’
Hembram was one of 14 individuals accused of involvement in the killings, along with Dara Singh, who was allegedly the mastermind. While 12 of the accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence, Hembram and Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Hembram's release has drawn attention to Singh's plea for remission. On 19 March, India’s Supreme Court asked the Odisha government to decide on Singh's plea within six weeks. According to reports, Singh's plea, filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, states that he has spent over 24 years in prison and that he has repented of the consequences of his actions taken in a 'fit of youthful rage'. He also made promises to ‘give back to the society’ through ‘service-oriented actions’. The Odisha government is expected to decide on Singh's plea in early May.
Odisha-based priest and lawyer Father Ajay Singh Kumar criticised Hembram’s release in an interview, saying: ‘This was one of the rarest of rare cases—a brutal murder of an innocent social worker and his two minor sons; burning them alive in a van. Such a violent act is a crime against humanity. If society fails to punish the perpetrators with just consequences, it risks encouraging others to commit similar atrocities.’
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘Mr Hembram committed a heinous crime. The elation surrounding his release and the approval by Vishva Hindu Parishad, an organisation connected to India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, is very concerning. This outcome is objectionable, particularly in the current climate in India where religious minorities are subjected to targeted attacks that have become both more frequent and deadly. The government of India has not taken any responsible measures to deal with the threats facing religious minorities, while hate speech and widespread far-right malfeasance is on the rise. We urge the international community to hold it to account for this.’
Note to Editors:
- India’s guidelines on the premature release of prisoners specify that individuals serving life sentences must complete a minimum of 14 years in prison before they are considered for remission, with this rising to 20 to 25 years for serious murder cases.