Background
Dara Singh was born as Ravinder Kumar Pal, the son of Mihilal Pal of Kokara, Itawah, Uttar Pradesh and stayed for a brief period in Delhi, before coming to Baliposhi, Orissa in 1989. It has been alleged that over time he became associated with the Bajrang Dal and launched a campaign against cow slaughter and religious conversions. Singh's base of operations was the relatively affluent Padiabeda village in Mayurbhanj district, a Hindu nationalist stronghold. He was charged in several cases where trucks carrying cows to slaughter had been hijacked and looted. By redistributing these cows among the locals, he had achieved a degree of popularity among the tribals, and was also becoming a political figure. He had a small loyal band that was increasingly involved in violent opposition to what they perceived as anti-Hindu forces.
In September 1998, a cattle truck was looted and torched, and the trucker's assistant, Shaikh Imam was battered to death in Godabhanga Ghati in the Mayurbhanj district. Singh was charged in this case and eventually exonerated by the Baripada District and Session's Court in Mayurbhanj district on October 2006, due to lack of sufficient evidence and hostile witnesses.
On 26 November 1999, Shaikh Rahman, a Muslim garment merchant was tortured and had his hands severed, before being burned to death at Padiabeda village. The body was then set aflame and incinerated, to prevent his family members from recovering it. The incident occurred near the Thakurmunda police station in the district. Singh and his associate, Buluram Mohanty was indicted in connection with this killing. In October 2007, the Baripada District and Sessions Court in Mayurbhanj district, convicted Singh of Rahman's murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while acquitting 23 others on grounds of insufficient evidence.
In September 1999, Catholic priest Arul Das was murdered in Jamabani village in Mayurbhanj district. Singh was charged in this case as well, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2007, along with associates Chena Hao, Rajkishore Mohanta, and Jadunath Mohanta.
Read more about this topic: Dara Singh (Hindu Nationalist)
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