Bhubaneswar, June 13: Gladys Staines, the widow of slain Australian missionary Graham Staines, today denied the accusations made against her husband by a woman defence witness before the trial court here yesterday describing the same as completely baseless and false. In a faxed statement from Baripada, Gladys said Graham was a morally upright man who was totally against sexual relationship outside of marriage and was careful in his actions so that he could not be falsely accused of such.

He never visited women in their homes as accused by Hemalata Karua whom she had never met.

Neither Staines nor myself ever visited her village or tried to convert her to Christianity as she has alleged, she said adding both Graham and herself were in south India with their children during October 1998.

Karua had alleged before the court of the district and sessions judge, Khurda, M N Patnaik that Staines and his wife had visited her village Machhagarh in Keonjhar district in October 1998 and coaxed her to embrace Christianity.

Staines, she had claimed, had invited her and her husband to Manoharpur to attend the jungle camp in January 1999.

Karua alleged that she and her husband were converted in the camp on January 21, 1999 and the same night Staines had tried to outrage her modesty when she was alone in a cottage.

Bureau Report