wfn.org | NCC India hails the judgement of Graham Staines Case.

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National Council of Churches in India
news@nccindia.org

PRESS RELEASE

NCCI hails the judgement of Graham Staines Case.

The National Council of Churches in India hails the verdict on the case of
Graham Staines as the Court has pronounced death sentence to the prime
accused Dara Singh and life imprisonment to twelve others who carried out
the gory cold blooded murder of the  Australian Missionary  Graham Staines
and his two minor sons on the chilly night of 22nd January, 1999 at
Manoharpur in Orissa. They were burnt alive while they were asleep inside
their vehicle. Though the verdict has come much delayed, amidst
topsy-turvytwists in the case, the culprits have been brought to book, at
last!

We appreciate the judiciary of our nation for its prophetic and challenging
role in the recent past. The timely intervention of the Supreme Court by
re-opening the Best Bakery case, where all twenty-one accused were
acquitted, allegedly due to lack of witnesses, by the Lower Court is another
instance of the responsible action of judiciary. The verdict by the Rae
Bareli Court in the case of the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya is
also a case in point.

Though in the Christian spirit, Ms. Gladys Staines, wife of the late Graham
Staines, had sought God's forgiveness for all those who had killed her
husband, the judiciary system has honoured her broadmindedness and forgiving
heart by punishing the culprits. This judgement  has definitely got its
innate long range implications in curbing the growing religious fanaticism,
as Dara Singh is in fact a creation of the hate campaign in this country by
the fundamentalist forces. We appeal to all such forces to desist from this
sort of communal activities that perpetuate disharmony and violence in the
nation. We continue to uphold our trust and faith in the judiciary of our
nation.

Ipe Joseph (Rev. Dr.)
General Secretary
National Council of Churches in India

Nagpur

Date  : September 22, 2003

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News letter : N C C India