Bhubaneswar: Gladys Staines, widow of Graham Staines, on Friday expressed satisfaction over the Supreme Court judgement that upheld life term for Dara Singh, convicted for the murder of her husband and two minor sons.
Gladys Staines, who has been staying in Australia after
the killing of her missionary husband and two sons in 1999,
was happy that Dara Singh and his accomplice Mahendra Hembram
were convicted in the case.
"Every person should be given another chance to rebuild
his/her life," said Prof Subhankar Ghosh, quoting Staines`
widow.
Ghosh, a close friend of the Staines family and in-charge
of the Staines leprosy home and Evangelical Missionary
Society, Mayurbhanj, had a telephonic conversation with Gladys
after the Supreme Court pronounced its judgement on Friday.
Gladys, who last visited Orissa last year, had told media
that she had already "forgiven" the killers.
Her sons Philip and Timothy, then 10 years and six
years old respectively, were killed along with their father.
Their only daughter Esther, who was brought up in
Orissa`s Mayurbhanj district and was now a final year medical
student in Australia, had meanwhile married, said Ghosh,
adding that both the mother and daughter had forgiven the
killers.
"There is need for the killers to repent for their
actions," Ghosh said, quoting the mother-daughter duo.
Meanwhile, welcoming the apex court verdict, Bhubaneswar
Christian Community (BCC) and Orissa Minority Forum said at a
meeting here that the entire community had forgiven the
convicts.
"The killers should not be killed. We hope Dara and his
accomplice will be transformed and follow the right path,"
they said.
PTI
