Mahendra Hembram, one of the convicts in the 1999 triple murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, was released from Keonjhar jail on April 16 after serving 25 years, following approval from the Odisha State Sentence Review Board. His release was granted on the basis of “good behaviour” during his incarceration.
Hembram received a formal farewell from jail authorities, who garlanded him in recognition of his conduct while in prison. Speaking to reporters after his release, the 50-year-old Hembram maintained his innocence, stating, “I spent 25 years in jail after being falsely implicated in an incident related to religious conversion. Today, I have been released.”
Jail officials confirmed that Hembram had met all the necessary conditions under the state’s premature release policy. “He has been released following a decision by the State Sentence Review Board and in accordance with existing guidelines for remission,” said Keonjhar jailer Manaswini Naik. Authorities also handed Hembram a bank passbook containing the earnings he accrued through prison labour.
Under Odisha’s 2022 guidelines for premature release, life convicts must serve a minimum of 14 years before remission is considered. For serious cases, including murder, the requirement is typically 20 to 25 years. Additional considerations exist for elderly inmates — female convicts over 60 and male convicts over 65.
The decision-making process involves recommendations from district collectors and superintendents of police, followed by review and approval by the State Sentence Review Board, the Chief Minister’s Office, and finally, the Governor.
Attention now turns to the pending remission plea of Dara Singh, who was also convicted in the same case. Singh, whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Orissa High Court in 2005, has been incarcerated in Keonjhar jail for 25 years. On March 19, the Supreme Court directed the Odisha government to decide on Singh’s remission plea within six weeks. The matter is expected to be heard in early May. Singh has requested a more liberal interpretation of the state’s remission policy to facilitate his early release.
A CBI court in Bhubaneswar sentenced Dara Singh to death and 12 others, including Hembram, to life imprisonment in 2003. Eleven of the co-accused were later acquitted by the Orissa High Court.
