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Dara was sleeping when Staines, children burnt: Defence witness
Bhubaneswar, June 17: A defence witness in the sensational Graham Staines murder case today told the designated CBI court here that Dara Singh, the main accused in the case, was sleeping with him at his village on the January 22, 1999 night when the Australian missionary and his two minor sons were burnt to death at Manoharpur.
Bhubaneswar, June 17: A defence witness in the sensational Graham Staines murder case today told the designated CBI court here that Dara Singh, the main accused in the case, was sleeping with him at his village on the January 22, 1999 night when the Australian missionary and his two minor sons were burnt to death at Manoharpur.
Hrusikesh Barik, claiming to be the BJP president at Machhagarh in Keonjhar district, said that Dara was well-known in the area and was present at a fair held in his village
during Makar Sankranti.
Deposing before the court of the district and sessions judge, Khurda, M N Patnaik, Barik said that Dara was present in the village between January 14 and 27, 1999 as the fair was a 12-day affair. Dara helped in organising the fair and the local MP and MLA also cooperated, he said.
Barik said he knew Dara who taught Hindi in the Malliposhi high school. "I am president of the local unit of BJP and Dara was a strong worker of the party," he said during cross examination by the CBI counsel. Asked where Dara was on the night of January 22, 1999 when the Australian missionary and his two minor sons were burnt to death at Manoharpur, Barik said he and Dara slept in the village club that night.
Replying to another question, he said after Dara left the village on January 27, 1999, he met him again after seven or eight days at Damahudahat. He did not see him again till his arrest. Barik said he had been to Manoharpur, about 15 km from his village, with some friends on January 25, 1999.
Bureau Report
Deposing before the court of the district and sessions judge, Khurda, M N Patnaik, Barik said that Dara was present in the village between January 14 and 27, 1999 as the fair was a 12-day affair. Dara helped in organising the fair and the local MP and MLA also cooperated, he said.
Barik said he knew Dara who taught Hindi in the Malliposhi high school. "I am president of the local unit of BJP and Dara was a strong worker of the party," he said during cross examination by the CBI counsel. Asked where Dara was on the night of January 22, 1999 when the Australian missionary and his two minor sons were burnt to death at Manoharpur, Barik said he and Dara slept in the village club that night.
Replying to another question, he said after Dara left the village on January 27, 1999, he met him again after seven or eight days at Damahudahat. He did not see him again till his arrest. Barik said he had been to Manoharpur, about 15 km from his village, with some friends on January 25, 1999.
Bureau Report