A man convicted for killing an Australian missionary and his two minor sons in Orissa in 1999 will contest the coming parliamentary election in the state.
Dara Singh, who was sentenced to death by a district and sessions judge in September last year for murdering Australian missionary Graham Staines and his sons, will contest the election from the Puri Lok Sabha seat on a Hindu Mahasabha ticket.
This was announced here Friday by Mukesh Jain, in-charge of the Hindu Mahasabha in the state.
Staines and his sons were murdered on Jan 22, 1999, in Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district, about 400 km from Bhubaneswar.
The judge had also sentenced 12 of Singh's associates to life imprisonment in the case. Singh and the others have appealed against the sentences in a higher court.
Jain, who is also president of a group formed to support Singh, said, "Dara Singh will file his nomination Monday. He will file his nomination as a candidate of the Hindu Mahasabha because it is a registered political party."
Prisoners in Indian jails can contest polls but cannot exercise their franchise