India, Sept. 15 -- Odisha's sentence review board has rejected a plea for the premature release of Dara Singh, 67, who is serving a life sentence for burning alive Australian missionary Graham Staines, 58, and his sons aged 10 and seven as they slept in 1999, ending months of uncertainty over his remission ahead of the September 17 Supreme Court hearing on the matter. The court last week directed the state government to take a clear position on Singh's plea for release.

Singh has spent over 26 years and six months in prison. He became eligible for consideration for premature release under Odisha's 2022 remission guidelines. Singh approached the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking directions to the Odisha government to consider his premature re...