Killers have no links with RSS, says BJP

BHUBANESWAR, JAN 24: The BJP has said that the miscreants behind the murder of Australian missionary have no link with the Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS. The party also said that Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh, the man suspected to have masterminded the gruesome murder is a known anti-social of the area and he does not have any link with the Bajrang Dal.

According to the three-member fact finding team of the party which visited Manoharpur for an on-the-spot assessment under state vice-president Anadi Sahu, the act was a result of a conflict of culture between the Hindus and Christians. He also said that a group of Australian missionary of which Staines was a member has been proselytising in the area since 1980.

The team said that Singh first worked in a shoe company of Keonjhar and later started his anti-social activities from Anandpur. Police had made a futile attempt to book Singh under the National Securities Act NSA. Later, Singh shifted his base to Thakurmunda, about 40 km from Anandpur.