Khalistani supporters of Jaggi Johal, 34, who is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail, have launched a fresh worldwide campaign to get him freed from India. Johal is a citizen of the UK.
Jaggi Johal aka Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested by Punjab police on November 4, 2017, in Jalandhar under the arms Act. He got married on October 18, 2017, and was travelling in a car with his bride when police caught him midway.
Under the campaign christened “Free Jaggi Now” the Khalistani activists have announced holding protests on November 4, in 5 cities of the US including New York and California. The Canadian radicals will gather in two cities, Toronto and Vancouver while In the UK protests will be held in four main cities including London and Manchester.
The free Jaggi protests are now directed toward the British – earlier they were targeting India – as a recent BBC report revealed that Jaggi was arrested in India on the basis of information provided by the intelligence agencies of the UK.
According to the BBC Johal’s activities in the UK as a fundraiser for Sikh separatists active in Punjab were in the knowledge of the British intelligence agencies. He was also involved in translating pro-Khalistan Punjabi literature into English for publication in newspapers and on websites. This information was passed over to the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) following which Johal was arrested by the Punjab police.
Jaggi has been named as an accused in seven cases, five of those being murder charges (targeted killings) and two being attempt to murder charges (attempted targeted killings). Activists and members of right-wing Hindu outfits, the Dera Sirsa followers, and even a Christian activist (a pastor) were targeted in these killings.
The case was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA found KLF militants Harminder Singh Mintoo, who died in 2018, and Hardeep Singh took a tour of France and Germany in June 2013. When they were in Paris, Mintoo and Gurjinder Singh Shastri went to the Paris airport and received Jagtar Singh Johal, who had arrived from the U.K. Johal had been sent to France by Gursharanbir Singh to deliver around 3000 euros to Mintoo.
Apart from Akal Takht Sahib and Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandak Committee, many mainstream politicians in Britain, Canada and Punjab have been speaking sympathetically for Jaggi.
Johal’s lawyer, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, as quoted by the Indian Express, said, “Total of 11 cases were registered against Jaggi Johal in India and eight of these cases are being investigated by the NIA, two by Punjab Police and one by Delhi Police Special Cell. Charge sheets have been filed in all the cases, however, the charges are framed only in one case that was registered by Punjab Police immediately after his arrest. Johal has already secured bail in three cases against him including the one in which charges are framed. He was discharged from one case that was registered by Punjab Police.”
