Keonjhar: Mahendra Hembram, one of the individuals convicted in the 1999 murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, was released from Keonjhar jail on Wednesday after serving 25 years.
Now 50 years old, Hembram was granted release due to his good conduct during the imprisonment.
Hembram was convicted alongside Dara Singh, also known as Rabindra Pal Singh, for the heinous crime that shocked India and drew global outrage.
On the night of January 21, 1999, Staines and his sons were burnt alive inside a station wagon in Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district by a mob allegedly led by Singh.
The attack, linked to tensions over religious conversions, remains a dark chapter in the region’s history.
Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Hembram claimed his innocence, stating, “I was falsely implicated in a case tied to religious conversion. After 25 years in prison, I am finally free today.”
