A STATE court today rejected parole for a man sentenced to
death for killing an Australian missionary and his sons, but said he would be allowed
to appeal the verdict, his lawyer said.
Dara Singh was convicted for leading a Hindu mob that burned to death Graham
Staines and his sons Philip, 10, and Timothy, 8, as they slept in their jeep on
January 19, 1999.
Singh had asked the court to release him for 15 days so that he could participate in the final mourning ritual following the October 1 death of his father in a road accident, but the High Court rejected the plea, said his lawyer Brahmananda Panda.
However, the High Court said it would allow Singh to appeal the conviction at a date yet to be fixed, according to Panda. Court officials declined to comment.
Panda said High Court Chief Justice SB Roy and Justice Laxmikanta Mohapatra rejected Singh's parole plea because he did not have enough time to reach his remote village of Kakora in the northern Uttar Pradesh state.
"His late father's last rites are being performed in his native village today ... even if he was released, it would not have been possible for him to reach the village to participate," Panda said.
Singh was sentenced to death by a lower court in Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Orissa state, on September 22. Twelve others were given life sentences.