30-year-old British national Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested on November 4 this year when he was visiting Punjab for his wedding.
Since then, Johal has been named in a number of cases related to targeted killings in Punjab. Most recently, Johal has been named in relation to the killing of a leader of a Hindu outfit, Shiv Sena in Khanna town in Punjab, the reported.
Johal is currently in the custody of Khanna police that is questioning him about the murder of Durga Prasad who was shot dead in April last year by two motorcycle-borne men.
Johal was remanded in police custody for four days on Monday. Before this, he was in the custody of the Ludhiana Police.
Listen to an interview with Jagtar Johal's lawyerhttps://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/366497711&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true
According to the police in Punjab, Johal is involved in the conspiracy to carry out targeted killings of leaders of different faiths in Punjab.
The cases against him include murders of Hindu leaders in Moga district of Punjab and the killing of a Christian priest in Ludhiana.
Family handout photo dated 18/10/17 of Jagtar Singh Johal at his wedding in India, as the British man has been arrested and detained in India Source: Press Association
He is also facing a case in relation to an attempted murder of Naresh Kumar, a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh- an outfit closely connected to India’s ruling party, the BJP. Mr Kumar escaped unharmed in a shootout.
Johal’s lawyer and family members have accused the Punjabi police of framing him in false cases. They say he is just an activist who uses social media to spread awareness about the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 in which thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed in India’s capital, Delhi and elsewhere following the assassination of the then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.
But, the Punjab government and the state police have maintained they have evidence of Johal’s involvement in the alleged crimes. The state government alleges Johal was working in collusion with the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI.
Since his arrest last month, there have been numerous protest in many countries against the Indian government. The protesters have demanded Johal’s release, claiming he has been framed in fabricated cases. Last week, members of Australia’s Sikh community held a protest demonstration outside the Indian Consulate in Sydney.
Protesters demanding the release of Jagtar Singh Johal during a demonstration in Sydney. Source: Supplied
