March 18, 2002

Hindu confesses to murder of missionary, sons
___BHUBANESWAR, India (RNS)--One of the 17 people on trial for brutally murdering Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons has claimed sole responsibility for the 1999 deaths in eastern India.
___Mahendra Hembram, one of those accused in the case, unexpectedly interrupted the trial this winter with the revelation and maintained his position when questioned by the judge later.
___"I set fire to the vehicle as I did not want them to come to my village again," Hembram told the packed courtroom, Agence France Presse reported.
___Hembram, 22, said none of the others who have been accused were present at the crime, including Dara Singh, the man police believed had led a mob to burn the car.
___Staines and his sons, Timothy, 10, and Philip, 8, were killed after their vehicle was set on fire with them inside.
___They had been sleeping in the car due to cold weather, making an overnight stop in the village of Manohapur as they traveled from their hometown of Baripada to Keonjhar in the eastern state of Orissa.
___When asked if he had anything else to tell the court, Hembram gave a lengthy speech about coercive conversions by overseas missionaries.
___The murders highlighted tensions between Hindus and Christians.
___Other missionaries accused right-wing Hindus of being responsible for the murders. Of the 17 who pleaded not guilty in the trial, at least one of them is alleged to have connections with a right-wing Hindu group.
___"Staines with fellow Christians used to frequently visit our village, and he used to hold religious camps," Hembram said in a statement submitted to the court.
___"I was annoyed by their conversion activity and slaughter of cows. It was very painful for me," he added.
___Christians comprise only 2 percent of the overwhelmingly Hindu population of India.

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