Arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal

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The arrest of Jagtar Singh Johal is a detainment that occurred in November 2017 in Punjab, India.

Arrest[]

Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in India for alleged involvement in the murders of Brigadier (retd) Jagdish Gagneja , RSS leader Ravinder Gosain and Pastor Sultan Masih[1] and for funding of the organisation Khalistan Liberation Force in November 2017, while in India for his wedding. Johal has not been brought to trial and no evidence has ever been presented in court. Punjab Police have claimed such evidence exists, but have not indicated any reasons for non-presentation.

Johal is a British Sikh from Dumbarton, Scotland suspected of involvement in numerous political killings in Punjab.[2][3][4][5][6]

Reason for arrest[]

Police are investigating Johal for running a hate and terror supporting website along with another UK-based person called neverforget84.com (since taken down).

The Indian authorities have not yet provided Johal's lawyer with evidence linking him to any crimes, thereby making it impossible for Johal to be brought to trial. Johal's lawyer alleges there is no such evidence, implying that the Indian authorities are deliberately and illegally detaining Johal. While in custody, Johal was also charged with another crime. [7]

His family allege that he was falsely detained and forced to sign blank statements and face torture in prison.[8] Police have denied these claims and termed them "emotional drama", noting that anyone suffering the extent of torture alleged by Johal would have succumbed to his wounds.[9][10][4] International and Sikh human rights groups in Punjab and the diaspora, as well as over 140 U.K. Members of Parliament (MPs), including the former Brexit secretary David Davis; the former international development secretary Hilary Benn; the father of the house, Sir Peter Bottomley; the SNP leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford; Sheffield’s mayor, Dan Jarvis; the former Foreign Office minister Lord Hain; the former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell; and Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative member of the foreign affairs select committee have written to Dominic Raab urging him to do more to secure the release of Johal. They are concerned over Johal's detention and (so far unsubstantiated) allegations of brutal treatment towards Johal - the Indian police have been accused of torturing him whilst in custody.[11][10] The Indian government has cited significant Khalistani outreach towards Indian-origin British MPs for their support towards Johal and insisted that their opposition is based on appeasing sentiments of large voting blocs.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "NIA again gets Jaggi's custody for five days". Manish Sirhindi. The Times of India. 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Targeted killings in Punjab: UK resident Johal was on police radar for a year". Ravinder Vasudeva. Hindustan Times. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal filmed in police custody". BBC News. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Detained Sikh activist's family speak out". BBC News. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Targeted killings: Jagtar Singh Johal remanded in three-day custody of NIA". 20 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  6. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Police delay chargesheet in arms case, Johal gets bail". Tribuneindia News Service. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  7. ^ "Jagtar Singh Johal: British man 'tortured to sign blank confession' in India". BBC News. January 28, 2021. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Why diaspora Sikhs are fighting to 'Free Jaggi'". Navjeevan Gopal. The Indian Express. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Why are Indian officials banned from Sikh Gurdwaras?". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Why diaspora Sikhs are fighting to 'Free Jaggi'". Navjeevan Gopal. The Indian Express. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  11. ^ Duttagupta, Ishani (26 November 2017). "Jagtar Singh Johal: A Scottish Sikh in a Punjab jail". Ishani Duttagupta. The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
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