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Orissa BJP leader to defend Dara Singh

Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar

Shyamanand Mahapatra, a senior politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Orissa, is to defend Dara Singh, prime accused in the sensational murder of Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons.

During the hearing in the case on Friday, when the trial was adjourned to March 1, Dara Singh told the court that Mahapatra would represent him. "Now on Shyamanand Mahapatra will be my lawyer in the case," Singh told the judge.

Mahapatra, a former state BJP vice-president, is a senior lawyer of the Orissa high court in Cuttack.

Earlier, Dara Singh was represented by Bana Mohanty.

Mahapatra, known for his hardline approach and closeness to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was happy to defend Dara Singh. He told rediff.com, "Yeh to hona hi tha (this was inevitable)."

"Dara Singh has shown confidence in me by selecting me to defend him," he added.

Mahapatra is already defending four of the 18 accused in the case. The missionary and his sons were burnt alive by a mob, allegedly led by Dara Singh, at Manoharpur village of Keonjhar district on January 23, 1999.

Sources close to the VHP in Orissa said the expenditure on Dara Singh's defence was being borne by VHP supporters.

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