| The Wadhwa
Commission, which probed the gruesome murder of Australian missionary Graham Steins and
his two sons in Orissa in January, is understood to have ruled out the involvement of any
Hindu outfit in the crime. The commission, headed
by Justice D P Wadhwa of the Supreme Court, said in its report that the killings were an
act of an individual who had no affiliation with any organisation, highly placed sources
said.
The findings assume significance in the context of allegations
by opposition parties and Christian institutions that pro-BJP outfits like Bajrang Dal and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad were behind the incident.
The single-judge also described the killings as a
"gruesome
murder" and an act of "hatred" by Dara Singh, an individual, who was
supported by some "disgruntled" elements, the sources said.
The commission held that Steins was a preacher who did not
indulge in conversions and was doing a "good job". But he did not realise that
there was an undercurrent against him, the report said.
Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet decided to furnish the
commission's report along with the Action Taken Report to the Lok Sabha Speaker and
chairperson of the Rajya Sabha with a request to have it placed in the Parliament library
and make it public.
After the Cabinet meeting, Union Home Minister L K Advani spoke
to Lok Sabha Secretary-General G C Malhotra and conveyed the Government's keenness to
table the report in the library as Parliament was not in session.
Mr Malhotra, according to sources, contacted speaker G M C
Balayogi and got his approval for the Government's move
The killings, which caused national and international outrage,
also cost Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik his job as he had to resign from the post.
The report of the commission was submitted to the Government on
June 21.
The Australian missionary and his two sons were burnt alive
when they were sleeping in their jeep at Manoharpur in Keonjhar district on the night of
January 22.
The Wadhwa Commission had conducted investigations into the
circumstances leading to the killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two
sons.
The Commission was set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act,
1952. The report as a consequence had to be placed in Parliament latest by December 1999.
As the Lok Sabha stands dissolved the government has decided to proceed in this manner.
Announcing this, Government spokesperson Pramod Majahan said
there is a similar precedent in the Justice Kuldip Singh Committee investigating land
deals in Karnataka. This committee was appointed by the V P Singh Government in 1989 and
the then Government adopted the the same procedure seeking that the report be made public. |
