States: Orissa: Making of a Myth

India Today, April 5, 1999
April 5, 1999

ORISSA
Making of a Myth

Dara Singh led the mob that killed Staines and his sons and is now on the run. But to the tribals he is more than a mere fugitive.

By Ruben Banerjee

Dara Singh led the mob that killed Staines and his sons and is now on the run. But to the tribals he is more than a mere fugitive. He lords over the wild, playing with tigers and riding elephants. When he sleeps, poisonous snakes stand vigil over him. The deadliest of animals follow him like obedient children. There's more to him. He reportedly sprints faster than the cheetah and jumps from one tree top to another with the ease of the monkey. And when he is angry, even lions grovel before him.

This Tarzan-like superhero who is thus glorified in Orissa's Keonjhar district is no tribal demigod. He is Dara Singh, the man responsible for burning alive the Christian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons while they slept in their jeep at Manoharpur on the night of January 22. He is also one of the most wanted fugitives in the country.

With the killings gradually becoming history and the police making no headway in tracking him down, Dara is now gaining near cult status in the tribal region. Especially Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts -- his chosen home for the past decade -- where he whipped up religious fanaticism. A pamphlet detailing Dara's almost supernatural exploits is a big draw here.

Forever one step ahead of the police -- the reward of Rs 1 lakh for information on him still goes abegging -- this shadowy figure, suspected to be a Bajrang Dal activist, is getting a dash of mystique and colour within the largely illiterate tribal communities. That's not all. Almost by word of mouth, the village road to Manoharpur and the small traffic square at Chiabeda have come to be named after him.

But then the police and the local administration have only themselves to blame for Dara's growing popularity. In the immediate aftermath of the Staines' killings, the police went on a rampage, raiding villages as far as 30 km from Manoharpur and picking up "suspects" -- 51 in all -- at random.

Last fortnight, the Orissa High Court ordered that 44 of the 51 jailed be set free because of lack of evidence. The ruling came after the state crime branch made a plea that cases registered against them be dropped. But the victims are seething with anger. "I am not only angry but also hungry," says Kendra Mohanto of Purana Pani, about 25 km from Manoharpur. In the two months he spent in jail, his standing crop has withered away, leaving him to starve. The fact that 39 of those arrested were either activists or sympathisers of the RSS and the VHP has only swung public opinion in Dara's favour. The fir that serves as the basis of investigation into the case does not directly implicate Dara. The person who filed it does not say that he saw Dara torching Staines' car. Only that he heard cries of "Jai Dara".

Even the state crime branch, which took over the case in February is up against a wall of silence from the tribals. "People are not keen to cooperate, despite the gruesomeness of the crime," admits a senior police official. The crime branch has arrested another six persons and obtained confessions from them that implicate Dara as the mastermind of the killings. However, two of them have already retracted their statements. Another star witness -- he volunteered to help the police -- Nishikanta Hembram, who said he had seen Dara gathering a crowd and marching towards Manoharpur, may also change his statement. Hembram has moved court for another recording of his statement in the presence of a judge.

Before his elevation to mythical stature Dara had humble beginning. He mainly attacked trucks carrying cattle to slaughter houses in Calcutta, beat up the traders and freed the cattle. With the region largely inhabited by Mahatos who revere cows, Dara's activities ingratiated him with the people. So, tip-offs to the police on his whereabouts are almost non-existent and many in fact mislead the police. Last month, the police were informed that Dara was on a hillock in Udala. After a tough trek up the hill, all that the police found was a deranged vagabond. With each such goof-up and with every case of police and administration insensitivity towards the tribals, Dara is gaining in stature. From a vicious criminal on the run, he is becoming a people's hero.

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