INDIA: Murderer of Missionary Family Freed from Prison

Graham Staines was an Australian missionary who had served leprosy patients in India since 1965. His sons were 10 and 6 at the time of the murders.

On 16 April 2025, prison authorities in India’s Odisha state released one of the men who had murdered Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons, Philip and Timothy, in January 1999. Mahendra Hembram, who set fire to the car in which the family was sleeping, was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 but was granted early release for good behavior. Hembram’s release was celebrated publicly by Hindu nationalist organizations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who called it “a good day for us.” The convicted murderer was greeted at the gate of the prison by crowds chanting Hindu slogans and welcoming him as a hero. The organizer of the attack, who was convicted of two other murders as well, was denied early release in May.

Front-Line Workers expressed concern that the celebrations surrounding Hembram’s release signal an increasingly hostile tone across the nation that is emboldening Hindu extremism.

• Pray for the safety of Believers in India, as well as a boldness to share the Gospel despite the increased risks.

• Pray that many Hindu people would come to faith in Christ and that God would do a great work in India.

• Pray that the government would clamp down on Hindu extremists who threaten Christians.