Jagtar Singh Johal, who goes by the nickname Jaggi, has been in the Punjab Police’s custody since Nov. 4, 2017. Jaggi was born and brought up in Scotland. He visited his homeland, India, to get married, but was instead detained. Some sources claim that the Government of India has proof that Jaggi was involved with the assassinations of Hindu leaders in Punjab, but these are rumors and mere speculation: nothing has been presented with concrete evidence. The accusations include Jaggi working with Pro-Khalistani Pakistani leaders and supplying them weapons in order to weaken the local Indian government.
Khalistan is the Sikh version of Israel. When India was partitioned, Sikhs were promised a separate country, called Khalistan. Sikhism is a monotheistic religion in which most followers have been persecuted, like Jews. The Sikh version of the Holocaust was in 1984 and it was called the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots. However, riots is an understatement and Khalistan was never created. According to the Time magazine, around 3,000 Sikhs were killed in 3 days. Along with that, the victims’ property was burned and the women in the family were raped. The Sikh community was never given their own country to practice their religion, which has always driven a wedge of hate between the Government of India and Sikhs.
However, the accusation itself is ridiculous. There is no way that Jagtar Singh Johal could have possibly conspired with Pro-Khalistani Pakistani leaders because he was in Scotland, not India. And, Jaggi was also accused of influencing young adults through his social media accounts. Apparently, the Punjab Police had been keeping an eye on Jaggi’s account for over a year. These accusations equate to absolute bullshit.
According to The Independent, Jaggi told his lawyers that “he [had] been tortured with “body separation techniques and electrocution to body parts.” Jaggi was set to be released from the police on Nov. 17, 2017, but on Nov. 24, he remained in custody despite torture claims.
However, according to Sikh Siyasat News, Jaggi was ordered to be sent to judicial custody until Dec. 25. Then, the Times Of India reported that Jaggi was placed at Nabha’s Maximum Security Jail. On Jan. 17, 2018, the National Investigation Agency took custody of Jaggi to “extract more information about his role in the targeted killings of Hindu leaders.”
Jaggi’s lawyer released a statement, which said that he was not given any information about the NIA taking Jaggi into their custody. The NIA skipped necessary legal procedures, and the court let them do so. All of this comes down to a religious war, which has been brewing since 1947. It all comes down to religious discrimination.
The international media has not focused on Jaggi’s struggle, nor have they reported much on it. Justice needs to be brought to Jaggi immediately. He, an innocent person, has been suffering for far too long. He’s not even an Indian citizen; he’s Scottish.
We need to bring this man justice. This is violence against human rights, a violation of the UN agreement.
