Missionary killing suspect arrested

Police in the eastern Indian state of Orissa say they have arrested a key suspect in last year's murder of an Australian missionary and his two young sons.

The suspect, Abhi Ram Mohanta, was arrested near Sudarshanpur village in Baripada district.

He had eluded police for over a year and there was a reward of over one thousand dollars fifty thousand rupees for information leading to his capture.

The main suspect in the case, Dara Singh, is already in police custody and due to appear in court next month May 2.

Both men are accused of belonging to a Hindu militant gang which extorted money from some Muslim traders and harrassed Christians. The missionary, Graham Staines, and his young sons were burnt to death as they slept in a jeep outside a village in Orissa in January last year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service