the night of 31 January 2000. Court verdicts On 5 April 2003 Dayanidhi Patra (one of the accused) told the court that he was present at the time Dara Singh set fire to Staines's wagon. On 22 September 2003 the trial court convicted all the accused and sentenced them to various jail terms, except Dara Singh who was given the death penalty. In May 2005 the Orissa High Court set aside the death sentence, stating that it could not be demonstrated that any specific action by Singh himself had caused the deaths. In August 2005 Singh filed a special leave petition with the Supreme Court, seeking acquittal. He asserted that his case was based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence, claiming that he had not led the killings. The Supreme Court allowed his appeal in October 2005. In February 2007, Singh petitioned the Supreme Court to release him on bail, stating that he was the primary livelihood earner in his family, including his dependent 75-year-old mother; but in October 2007 the Supreme Court denied his petition. On 19 March 2007 the Supreme Court issued notice to the CBI on a petition filed by Mahendra Hembram challenging the Orissa High Court verdict, citing his confessional statement before the trial court, in which he had said that he killed Graham Staines, should be considered in total. On 21 January 2011 the Supreme Court upheld the Orissa High Court's life imprisonment sentence for Dara Singh and his accomplice Mahender Hembram. The Supreme Court dismissed the CBI's call for the death penalty, explaining that the death penalty could only be imposed in the "rarest of rare" cases. References Further reading External links 1962 births 1999 in India 1999 murders in India Anti-Christian sentiment in Asia Anti-Muslim violence in India Bajrang Dal members Far-right politicians in India Indian murderers of children Indian people convicted of murder Indian prisoners sentenced to death Indian serial killers Living people Male serial killers People convicted of murder by India People from Etawah district Prisoners sentenced to death by India Indian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by India Hindu nationalists Hinduism-motivated violence in India