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[edit]

In November 2017, while in India for his wedding, Jagtar Singh Johal—aka "Jaggi"[1]—was detained. Johal is a British Sikh who ran a website titled Never Forget 1984.[2][3][4][5] He was accused of involvement in the assassination of multiple Hindu Leaders of RSS in Punjab. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) handling the case have filed an over-1,000-page charge sheet, with charges against Johal related to terrorism. According to the NIA, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was the prime target in one of his alleged conspiracies.[6]

Reason for arrest[edit]

Johal was in touch with the alleged masterminds of targeted killings, Pakistan-based Khalistan Liberation Force terrorist Harmeet Singh aka "PhD", and UK-based Gursharanbir Singh, wanted by Punjab Police in the 2009 killing of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat leader Rulda Singh, who was gunned down in Patiala. Police also claim to have "clinching evidence" that Johal was in touch with radical Sikh leaders abroad and had met KLF terror operative Harminder Singh Mintoo in France before his arrest. Investigators say that Johal arranged funds to obtain weapons in India for terrorist acts. The funds, according to police, were made available to Taljeet Singh aka Jimmy Singh who also lived in UK and has also been arrested. Jimmy in turn procured weapons from his Jammu-based cousin. Investigators say that Johal also ran a website along with another UK-based person called neverforget84.com where he uploaded posts to fuel hate and radical ideas. They suspect that Johal was likely to have made good money through "click on the links".[7]

Numerous sources indicate that he was falsely detained and forced to sign blank statements and face torture in prison.[8][9][1][5] Sikh human rights groups in Punjab and the diaspora, as well as several U.K. Members of Parliament (MPs), have cried foul over the arrest and brutal treatment of Johal, as the Indian police have been accused of torturing him whilst in custody.[10][1] The Indian government claims that few Indian-origin British MPs are supporting Johal due to vote-bank politics.[11] [1][9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "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.
  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. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Detained Sikh activist's family speak out". BBC News. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "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.
  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. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "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. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (13 July 2018). "India rejects UK leniency plea for 'terrorist' Jagtar Singh Johal". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.

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