BORIS Johnson must help a Scot who claims he has been tortured in an Indian prison, supporters have demanded.
MPs from across the political spectrum have urged the Foreign Secretary to get help for Jagtar Singh Johal, who was arrested on a street in the state of Punjab earlier this month and claims to have been submitted to electric shocks in custody.
He has not yet been charged, but the newlywed is understood to have been accused of involvement in funding the purchase of weapons related to the targeted killings of prominent Hindus. The Sikh activist, known as Jaggi, is said to have “influenced youth” through NeverForget84.com, which shares content related to the killings of about 8,000 Sikhs in pogroms in 1984.
Despite bilateral agreements between India and the UK, no-one from the UK consular team in New Dehli attended his second court hearing yesterday. It is unclear whether this is the result of a block by Indian authorities or inaction from the UK team.
However, the 30-year-old’s brother Gurpreet Singh Johal says the UK Government has given the Dumbarton man’s plight “no attention” and his MP Martin Docherty-Hughes has accused British officials in India of staying silent on the case.
Labour’s Tan Dhesi, the UK’s first turban-wearing Sikh MP, says the failure of UK representatives to attend is “distressing” and members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs has petitioned Johnson to investigate the case “with the utmost urgency”.
The body, which includes Glasgow Central Alison Thewliss MP, says Indian authorities should have shared any evidence against Jagtar with their British counterparts and has called his treatment “completely unacceptable”.
Last weekend the Foreign Office said it was in contact with Jagtar’s family and staff were “in contact with the Indian authorities regarding his case”.
Yesterday the department said it was not updating this statement.
However, Gurpreet told STV News he was “outraged” by his brother’s treatment, adding: “He has been tortured by being beaten and having electric shocks to his genitals.
“This has happened because the UK Government has not prioritised the case. They have given it no attention. They have made no leeway.
“He has been remanded until Friday, when he will appear again. We are very worried about him and what will happen to him.”
On Monday, Docherty-Hughes told The National he lacked faith in Johnson to act, in light of the inaccurate comments the Foreign Secretary made about UK citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is imprisoned in Iran. Those remarks are said to have put the mother at risk of extended jail time.
Yesterday he released a letter to Johnson to this newspaper urging him to intervene. The move comes as the West Dunbartonshire MP accused UK officials in New Delhi of a “stony silence” about the case, telling BBC Asian Network that Jagtar had been an “easy target” for Punjabi authorities clamping down on human rights critics.
The SNP politician said: “We are getting dribs and drabs of information.
“He needs access to consular support. Authorities in the Punjab must give it quickly.”
The letter to Johnson states: “Secretary of State, I hope that you will understand that any intervention you can personally make with the government of India would go some way to alleviating the fear and worry of Jagtar’s family at home in Dumbarton as well as myself as Jagtar’s MP.
“I look forward to hearing from you on this issue as a matter of urgency.”
The Sikh Federation UK has launched a #FreeJaggi campaign and chairman Bhai Amrik Singh said the British High Commission and Foreign Office could be accused of “looking the other way” in the case.
Meanwhile, members of Scotland’s 9,000-strong Sikh community have also criticised the government’s response. The National can reveal that Glasgow Gurdwara, the largest in the country, has asked Amnesty International to investigate.
Charandeep Singh, general secretary of Glasgow Gurdwara, said: “The family of Jagtar, supported by Sikh organisations, have growing concern because of the lack of engagement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British High Commission.
“We strongly appeal that the UK Government reach out to Indian authorities and guarantee the fair and just treatment of Jagtar Singh, a British citizen.”
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