By Michael Gonsalves, UCA News. (photo credit: UCA News)
A 39-year-old Hindu man, who was convicted of being part of a gang that murdered Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two young sons 26 years ago, has announced his baptism as a Baptist Christian.
“I took baptism on my own in April 2025 and became a Christian. Not because a pastor influenced me but … my inner voice told me to shun violence, and I turned to the church seeking forgiveness,” Sudarshan Hansda, also known as Chanchu, told UCA News on June 29.
Chanchu was a 13-year-old seventh-grader when he joined the mob that burned Staines and his two sons alive inside their station wagon on the night of Jan. 22, 1999, in the village of Manoharpur in Odisha state’s Keonjhar district, in eastern India.
“I fled the horrible scene when the red flames rose up from the burning Jeep,” Chanchu added. “It was a mob of about 60 people, armed with bows and arrows, sticks, and petrol cans from surrounding villages.”
Dara Singh, a local leader of the right-wing Hindu organization Bajarang Dal, which opposed missionary activities in the villages, was the leader of the gang, Chanchu said.