The government in eastern India’s Odisha state has released a man serving a life term for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, reportedly considering his “good conduct” in jail. The government, led by the Hindu-leaning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), released Mahendra Hembram, 51, on April 16 after he had spent 25 years in prison. Keonjhar district prison authorities gave Hembram a cordial farewell and, garlanded him in recognition of his good conduct in jail, reports said. “The Christian community in Odisha is shocked over the news of his pre-mature release,” said Father Ajay Singh, a lawyer and activist belonging the archdiocese of Cuttack–Bhubaneswar in the state. Singh told on April 17 that the release of Hembram, who murdered a missionary and his two sons, “will set a horrible precedent.” Hembram was given life in prison for assisting Dara Singh, the main culprit, who burnt alive Staines and his two minor sons – Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) – on Jan. 22, 1999, in the Koenjhar district of eastern Odisha state. The missionary and the children were sleeping inside their vehicle in the remote village.
U.S. Bishops to consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2026 Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, Florida, June 10-12. In celebration of the
