PM Narendra Modi (left) and British PM Theresa May (right). (Source: PMO/Twitter)
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday raised the issue of the arrest of Scots Sikh Jagtar Singh Johal with her Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Jagtar Singh Johal a.k.a Jaggi, along with Hardeep Singh Shera and Ramandeep Singh, was arrested for allegedly executing targeted killings across Punjab. While Hardeep and Ramandeep were arrested in connection with the murder of pastor Sultan Masih, Johal was arrested in connection with the murder of RSS leader Ravinder Gosain. He was arrested in Punjab on November 4, just over a fortnight after his wedding. Johal has also been accused of conspiring to murder Hindu leaders and being involved in the murder of a Christian priest.
On Wednesday, when Prime Minister Modi landed in London on a four-day visit, he was greeted with protest being staged including those over Jagtar Singh’s detention. During the protest staged by the supporters of Jagtar, campaigners said the 31-year-old Sikh has been held without charge and tortured, reported the BBC. A chargesheet is yet to be filed by the Punjab Police.
“The prime minister (May) raised Mr Johal’s case with Prime Minister Modi this morning and the government will continue to make representations on his behalf until our concerns are addressed,” BBC quoted a Downing Street spokesman as saying. “Our High Commission staff in India have visited Mr Johal 10 times since his detention, most recently on 22 March, and the Foreign Office are in regular contact with his family,” he added.
Johal’s brother, Gurpreet Singh, was among those who travelled from Glasgow to take part in the protest in Parliament Square. Johal’s family has claimed that he was a peaceful activist who had contributed to a website remembering the 1984 massacre at the Golden Temple at Amritsar but was not a militant.