Bhubaneswar, May 17: Fourteen years after Australian missionary Graham Staines and two of his minor sons were burnt alive by a mob at Manoharpur, around 300km from here, a joint team of the CBI and police nabbed two absconding accused today.

Ghanshyam Mahant, 37, and Ramjan Mahant, 34, were picked up from Gayalmunda and Bhalughera villages within Anandpur police limits in Keonjhar. “Ghanshyam was arrested from Gayalmunda and Ramjan from Bhalughera. They have never faced trial in the case,” said Keonjhar superintendent of police Kavita Jalan, adding that they carried a reward of Rs 50,000 each.

The accused were brought to Bhubaneswar and produced in the court of special chief judicial magistrate (CBI). The investigating agency has taken them on a four-day remand for interrogation. Staines and his sons were burnt to death on January 22, 1999, while they were sleeping in their station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar.