NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar
The twelve accused in the murder of the Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons in Orissa in January 1999, have launched a fast unto death on Sunday in the Bhubaneswar special jail.
They are protesting against the negligence of jail authorities in giving proper medical attention to one of the co-accused, Surat Nayak.
Nayak has been ill for the last 20 days.
Lawyer Bana Behary Mohanty, who is representing all the accused, said the undertrials resorted to hunger strike when nothing came out of their pleas for medical help to the jail warden and the district judge.
They had submitted a petition to the Khurda district and sessions judge in the first week of August demanding specialist treatment for Nayak.
The court had directed Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, to furnish a report on Naik's condition.
"Unless Naik is taken care of by a specialist the undertrials will not break their fast," Mohanty said.
However, the jail officials said that Naik has been treated by the jail doctors and is now normal.
Interestingly, all the 12 accused had launched a hunger strike in June last, when Dara Singh went on a hunger strike in the Circle Jail at Baripada, demanding a fan.
Staines and his two minor sons were torched to death in Monoharpur in Keonjhar district January 22, 1999, allegedly by the main accused Dara Singh.
The Mayurbhanj police arrested Singh last year after a yearlong hunt. The others were arrested subsequently.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
