Indian Muslim Council-USA welcomes court verdict in Staines murder case.

September 18, 2003

Indian Muslim Council-USA welcomes court verdict in Staines murder case.

Santa Clara, CA. Indian Muslim Council-USA, an advocacy group working toward safeguarding Indian society s pluralist and tolerant ethos, welcomed the conviction of Dara Singh and 12 others by a trial court in the state of Orissa.

On January 22, 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons, Timothy (7) and Philip (11), were burnt to death as they slept in their jeep in Manoharpur, a town in Orissa, India. Dara Singh, a sympathizer of the Hindutva-fascist parties in India, was arrested for the crime.

Rasheed Ahmed, Vice-President of IMC-USA said, We are pleased by the decision of the trial court and its efforts to resist intimidation and pressure by supporters of the accused. This verdict should serve as a lesson to extremist forces that their campaign to ferment hatred against minorities and secular minded Indians will never go unpunished.

Since it was founded over a year ago, IMC-USA has been actively promoting values of pluralism and tolerance amongst the Indian Diaspora in the United States.

Contact:
Rasheed Ahmed
(708) 466 0244