On 19th December, BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi suffered a fall on the stairs of the parliament and so did the sanctity of the temple of democracy. The BJP MP from Balasore was reportedly pushed by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
While the 69-year-old BJP leader is undergoing medical treatment for the injuries he suffered, TMC MP Mahua Moitra took the charge to attack and villainise Sarangi by levelling false allegations.
She claimed that Sarangi was involved in the killing of Australian Christian missionary Grahan Staines and his two children in Odisha back in 1999.
In an X post published on Thursday, Mahua Moitra claimed that while Pratap Sarangi accused Rahul Gandhi of rowdyism, Sarangi had led the mob that burnt Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons alive in 1999.
“Btw this MP Mr. Sarangi accusing @RahulGandhi of “rowdyism” is very same Bajrang Dal activist accused for leading mob & setting fire to vehicle in which Christian missionary Graham Staines & his two sons were asleep. They burnt to death,” the Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar posted.
In no time, TMC supporters and the extended anti-BJP ecosystem began accusing Pratap Chandra Sarangi of involvement in the killing of the Australian Christian missionary and his two sons.
In this vein, a Congress supporter wrote, “Pratap Chandra Sarangi was the Odisha coordinator of the Bajrang Dal when Graham Staines & his two kids were burned alive by Bajrang Dal members two decades ago.”
Another one wrote, “Pratap Chandra Sarangi was Odisha’s state unit chief of the Bajrang Dal when Graham Staines, an Australian Christian, and his two minor children were burnt alive by the members of the right-wing outfit in 1999. How such a bile person becomes a MP??”
Meanwhile, IndiaToday Chief Sub Editor Ajmal Abbas also insinuated that since Sarangi was a Bajrang Dal office bearer at the time when Staines and his sons were charred, he was also involved in the murder. “This guy, Pratap Sarangi, was the local Bajrang Dal chief when the outfit burnt alive Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his family in Odisha in 1999,” Abbas posted.
Many others are sharing a 2019 BBC propaganda article titled ‘Pratap Sarangi: India social media hero minister’s dubious past’ wherein stated: “He was the leader of the Bajrang Dal, a hardline rightwing group when a Hindu mob brutally killed Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two children in 1999.”
The truth about the outrageous allegations against Pratap Chandra Sarangi
Contrary to the accusation made by Mahua Moitra, Pratap Sarangi was neither leading any mob which killed Graham Staines and his sons nor was he even named as an accused in the case.
In fact, Dara Singh, an activist linked to Bajrang Dal and 12 others was convicted in 2003 for the murders. On the intervening night of 22nd and 23rd January 1999, Graham Stewart Staines, an Australian missionary and his two small children were all burnt to death while they were sleeping in a station wagon in a remote village Manoharpur, in District Keonjhar of Odisha.
In this case, Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh, an activist linked with Bajrang Dal alongside 12 others was convicted in 2003.
A commission under the leadership of Justice D.P. Wadhwa was constituted to investigate the triple murder case. The Wadhwa Commission found Dara Singh guilty, however, it found no evidence to suggest that Bajrang Dal was involved in the murders.
Furthermore, the area in which Staines worked had become a communal flashpoint as a result of Christian missionaries’ conversions.
Due to the continuous Christian conversion activities in the region, communal tensions peaked there. Just a year before his murder, Graham Staines noted in his journal that some people on motorcycles hampered his missionary work.
The police had even asked Staines to leave the area and informed him that they could not provide him security due to elections.
Admitting to his conversion activities, Staines had said, “The first jungle camp in Ranchandrapur was a fruitful one and the Spirit of God worked among the people. About 100 attended, some were baptised at the camp. At present, Misayel and some of the church leaders are touring a number of places where people are asking for baptism. Five were baptised at Bigonbadi.”
Even the Wadhwa Commission report mentions how communal tensions were at the peak in Keonjhar district due to missionary activities and that Bajrang Dal was not involved in the gruesome murder.
“From these issues of the ‘Tidings’ [newsletter published from Australia by Australian Missionary Tidings], following circumstances emerge: .Jungle Camps were regular features in the Districts of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Jungle Camp means four days of Bible teaching, prayer and the fellowship of Christians living together. It enables believers from other churches to meet with local Christians to discuss experiences and encourage one another. Also speakers from other places broaden the vision of those whose lives have been confined to one small village. The teaching helps the church leaders to further develop material for their own regular ministry. The camp can also create hunger in the hearts of those who come just to observe. Each camp has a bookstall, which for many is the only chance to buy Christian literature. Conversions did take place in Jungle Camps. These conversions were not caused by any threat, inducement or duress. There was dispute among Church leaders of Manoharpur Church and attempts were made to sort out the differences among them. Differences were so acute that the Vacation Bible School which was to be held in Manoharpur was cancelled. There was tension in Thakurmunda area between Christians and non-Christians. From July 1998 issue, it does appear that persons, who had been converted to Christianity were Hindus,” the report reads.
Notably, both Dara Singh and Pratap Sarangi had denied the former’s association with Bajrang Dal. Sarangi, who was the state coordinator of Bajrang Dal back then had filed an affidavit before the court saying that “Dara Singh was never associated with the Bajrang Dal. ” Moreover, in his statement, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, who is the State Coordinator of Bajrang Dal in Orissa, was categorical that re-conversion to Hinduism is not one of the objects of Bajrang Dal. In his affidavit, he stated that Bajrang Dal was not involved in the gruesome murder and that Dara Singh was never a member of the Bajrang Dal. Sarangi stated that Bajrang Dal is an independent forum associated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He described the objectives and activities of the Bajrang Dal. It is not necessary to go into that as Bajrang Dal is not an unlawful organization,” the commission stated.
The Wadhwa Commission found that there was no evidence that any of the accused were Bajrang Dal members or had links with the Bhartiya Janata Party.
“The Commission has scrutinized the evidence before it and especially the evidence of the associates of Dara Singh who were involved in the carnage at Manoharpur. There is no evidence to suggest that any of the persons involved in the crime was in fact a member of either the Bajrang Dal or BJP or any organization. There is nothing to suggest in the evidence… that there is involvement of any organisation, even that of Bajrang Dal, in the planning and execution of the crime,” the Wadhwa Commission said.
Conclusion
It is thus, evident from the official records of legal proceedings in the case that Pratap Sarangi was not even named as an accused in the murder of Graham Staines and his children nor was Bajrang Dal involved.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra and the anti-BJP ecosystem are deliberately maligning the image of the BJP MP to downplay his manhandling in the Parliament premises and to normalise violence against MPs of opposing parties.
They believe that it is acceptable to manhandle and injure a person whom they accuse of involvement in criminal activities despite not having a shred of evidence.
