The CBI and Orissa Police ... investigation reports on the (Staines) killings and the events leading to them zero in on Dara Singh's links with BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal leaders in Keonjhar and neighbouring districts of Orissa.

The conclusions are based on circumstantial evidence and eyewitness statements, which according to senior CBI officers the Wadhwa Commission chose to ignore. The commission had completed its work long before the CBI-Orissa Police report was ready.

The report traces the political undercurrents in the anti-cow slaughter protests in Keonjhar, Maryurbhanj and their adjoining districts. RSS and Bajrang Dal supporters regularly visited these districts and "instigated" the local Mahanta tribals, who worship the cow, to protest against cattle sale at the weekly hats (markets).

Muslim traders'bought cattle at Deogarh, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar and sold them in the hats at Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak districts. This had been the practice for years but in 1997 the supporters of the BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal protested by stopping the trucks carrying cattle and releasing the animals.

The report goes on to state that to mount their attack against the cattle trade the forces against cow slaughter engaged Dara Singh, who was popular among the Mahanta tribals.

A native of UP, Dara Singh is said to have ... left home over a decade ago because of a family dispute, "drifted to Delhi", he came to Rudhiapada (Keonjhar Dt.) about nine years ago .. He went off to nearby Maliposi ....

"During his stay at Maliposi he attended RSS camps at Patna, Turumunga, Champua and Ghatagaon police station areas of Keonjhar district and Tharkumunda, Mahuldiha, Rairangpur and Jasipur police station areas of Mayurbhanj district", says the report. "He also frequently visited Sisu Mandir Schools run by the RSS of those areas.

In this process he came into contact with RSS leaders and especially with Sri Sushil Chandra Mahanta ... who was t he Bajrang Dal pramukh of Patna block ...

The campaign against cow slaughter was gathering momentum and soon Dara assumed its leadership. He, along with the Mahanta youth, "committed crimes against the cattle traders". From October, 1997 to March 1998, three cases were filed against him in this connection.

The report also states that after their arrest (Dara was arrested on November 11, 1997), the BJP's MP from Keonjhar, Upendra Naik, organised a protest meeting near Patna police station demanding their release. The report also details how Naik and other local-BJP leaders helped Dara get bail on the many occasions

... Dipu says ... Dara told me that he belonged to the Bajrang Dal ... he also campaigned for Upendra Naik in the 1998 elections ... He told me that he had gone to Naik's house many times, had lunchad-there-and even stayed there ... Dipu's statement also details how Dara masterminded the killing of Graham Staines ... CBI officers say that if Dara has not been caught yet it is because eof the support he is getting from the Mahanta tribals and local BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal leaders ... (Source: The Week, 5 September, 1999)