Bhubaneswar, May 7: Two prosecution witnesses in the sensational Graham Stuart Staines murder case, one of whom alleged before a local court in Bhubaneswar that the Australian missionary was engaged in conversion, were on Tuesday declared hostile by CBI.
Sonaram Marandi, a college student who runs a cycle repairing shop at Manoharpur, where Staines and his two sons were burnt to death on the night of January 22, 1999, alleged before the judge, M.N. Patnaik that Staines had been inducing Hindus into Christianity by offering money.
The Hindus had never questioned the conversions by the missionary, he said while being cross-examined by Defence counsel.
Another prosecution witness Debendra Mahanta, said he had made certain statements against Dara Singh, the prime accused in the case and, another accused Dipu Das before the sub-divisional Judicial magistrate at Anandapur under duress by the police.
Mahanta, however, admitted that Dara and Dipu had met him in his garden in his village between 10.30 am and 11.00 am on January 23, 1999 and requested for food.
He asked them to take bath in nearby Tel river and come to his house. While taking lunch, Dara had told him that they had been returning after accomplishing some work.
Asked whether Dara explained what the work was, Mahanta said he did not.
Mahanta said he had worked as a polling agent for BJP during elections and his father was a VHP activist. He was among those taken to custody on January 25, 1999 after the killing of the missionary and his children.
Mahanta said he had told the SDJM's court that Dara had confessed before him that he had set fire to the two vehicles parked outside the church at Manoharpur. But he had made that statement after being threatened by the police to do so.
Marandi said he knew one of the accused Mahendra Hembram, his classmate in high school. Hembram had taken Rs 200 loan from him two days before the killing of Staines for meeting the expenses of his studies.
Marandi said Hembram had invited him to witness 'naagin' dance being held at Manoharpur at a short distance from the church when the two met again on January 22, 1999 evening.
The vehicles caught fire when the dance was on and he could not see any gathering at the spot, he said, adding he along with Mahendra Hembram, Ojen Hansda, Chenchu and several others rushed to the scene and tried to douse the flames.
The CBI counsel, who sought to examine Marandi again as he had come forward with new facts, asked him whether he had told the agency earlier that he had declined Hembram's invitation to witness the dance.
Marandi replied in the negative.