Keonjhar (Odisha), Apr 16 (PTI) Mahendra Hembram, one of the convicts in the high-profile murder case of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, was released from Keonjhar jail in Odisha on Wednesday after serving 25 years.

Now 50 years old, Hembram was released from prison on grounds of good behaviour during his incarceration.

Hembram and Dara Singh, alias Rabindra Pal Singh, were convicted for the brutal murder of Staines and his sons, who were burnt alive by a mob allegedly led by Singh on the night of January 21, 1999.

The victims were asleep in a station wagon in Manoharpur village, Keonjhar district, when the attack took place, drawing national and international condemnation.

“I spent 25 years in jail after being falsely implicated in an incident related to religious conversion. Today, I have been released,” Hembram told reporters outside the jail. PTI COR AAM AAM MNB