More than 25 years after a Hindu nationalist mob burned Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons alive in India, the man primarily responsible for their deaths is seeking an early release from prison.
Rabindra Kumar Pal, better known as Dara Singh, petitioned India’s Supreme Court for premature release in 2024 after serving more than 26 years. The court has repeatedly pressed the Odisha state government and its State Sentence Review Board to decide his remission request.
At an Aug. 19 hearing, the court noted that the case had “been adjourned time and again” while officials considered Singh’s petition. According to media reports cited by Christian Daily International, the bench warned the state, “You take a decision, whichever way you want. If you do not take a decision, then we will.”
Yet amid the renewed legal battle, the most powerful response has come from Gladys Staines, who lost her husband and two sons in the attack.
“Continuing to follow Jesus’ teaching and example, I continue to forgive,” Staines told Christian Daily International.
She also reaffirmed the remarkable declaration she first made in 2003: “I have forgiven the killers and have no bitterness, because forgiveness brings healing and our land needs healing.”
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Staines said she had no comment about Singh’s possible release and would allow the legal process to proceed.
Graham Staines arrived in India in 1965 and spent decades serving people affected by leprosy. On Jan. 22, 1999, he and his sons, Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, were sleeping inside a vehicle following a Christian camp in Manoharpur when a mob surrounded them.
The attackers assaulted the father and his children, forced them back into the vehicle and set it on fire. Singh was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
Another convicted participant, Mahendra Hembram, was released in April 2025 after serving 25 years. Sudarshan Hansda, who was 13 when he joined the mob, was released from juvenile detention in 2008. Seventeen years later, Hansda was baptized as a Christian after turning to the church while searching for peace.
As Singh’s fate is considered, we should pray for everyone involved—for Gladys Staines, the courts, the convicted men and the people of India. We should also pray that the Lord will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for good, bringing repentance, salvation and healing through the testimony of radical forgiveness and sacrifice.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
