Bhubaneswar: The judgment in the Graham Staines triple murder case, slated to be pronounced today (Sept 8), was deferred till September 15.

The case was deferred as the trial judge, M N Patnaik, was indisposed and did not attend the Sessions court.

The prime accused in the case, Dara Singh and 12 other accused were produced in the court of Additional District Sessions Judge, Sachidananda Sahu, who announced that the judgment in the much-publicised case would be delivered next Monday (Sep 15).

The court also remanded the accused to judicial custody till September 15.

A tight security cordon had been thrown around the court with armed policemen guarding the entrances. A crowd of television cameramen and photographers besides newsmen were present.

The 13 accused persons, including Dara, dressed in spotless white clothes, were brought in police vans from the circle jail at Choudwar, 45 km from Bhubaneswar.

The Australian missionary and his two minor sons were burnt to death at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district on the night of January 22, 1999.

The gruesome incident had sparked a country wide furore following which the case was entrusted to the CBI.

The CBI had charge-sheeted 18 persons including the prime accused Dara Singh. Three of them were still absconding while a juvenile accused Chenchu Hansda had already been convicted in a juvenile court. The trial in the case had commenced on March 1, 2001.

PTI