Expressing "satisfaction" that justice has at last been done by convicting Dara Singh in the Stains murder case, All India Christian Council (AICC), however, said the delay in bringing justice has enabled the communal cults to grow in the country.
"The delay in bringing the criminals to justice and the protracted case, the manner of the inquiry by the CBI and the attitude of the State and Central government over the years have, however, had their impact reaching far beyond the state of Orissa," the Christian organisation said in a statement.
"First of all, the almost four years since the crime have allowed the extreme Hindutva fundamentalist forces to create a Dara Singh cult, a Dara Army and generally deify the murderer. Dara, in fact, bid bold to try to contest the last Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections from jail, and it was public outrage which made the authorities reject the nomination," it said.
The statment, however, said that AICC agreed with Graham Stains widow that "neither vengeance nor vindication matter any more."