Johal’s arrest echoes in UK Parliament

JALANDHAR: The issue of UK national Jagtar Singh Johal’s arrest in Punjab and his alleged torture in police custody has echoed in the UK Parliament. West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty raised the issue of consular access and allegation of torture in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Docherty said, “On November 4, my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in the Punjab.Do you think it would be appropriate if a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) minister were to come to the dispatch box to make a statement on the fact that Jagtar has yet to receive consular support, even though he has so far appeared in court two times? Accusations of torture are now being made public, so there is an urgent requirement for the Foreign Secretary to make a statement on behalf of a British citizen who comes from Dumbarton in my constituency. This is a matter of urgency for our relationship with the Republic of India.”
Further, Labour MP Virendra Sharma, who has his roots in Jalandhar, tweeted on Wednesday saying, “I have written to the Foreign Secretary, and to the Indian Government to urge action for Jagtar Singh Johal. Legal processes and human rights must be observed.”
The apprehensions of rights violation were also underlined by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs in its letter to secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson. Punjab chief minster used “interrogation” in his press conference recently, the letter noted, adding “The cause of concern for Jagtar’s welfare is exacerbated as consular services in Punjab have yet to be given an opportunity to see Jagtar in prison.”
In the letter, APPG chair Preet Kaur Gill, said if the Indian government had information linking Jagtar to alleged crime or terror-related activities, it should have been shared with the UK government at the earliest opportunity and at the very least, immediately following his detention.
“The United Kingdom and India enjoy a deep and important intelligence partnership and, as countries that have both been affected by acts of terror, it’s important to maintain that relationship. To that end, the APPGBS is contacting the relevant counter terrorism authorities to ask why such information has not been shared by the Indian authorities,” she mentioned.
This stand by APPGBS assumes significance when some top Punjab cops officials have reportedly claimed that they were keeping a tab on Jagtar for the last around one year.
“India is the largest democracy in the world and it is rightly often touted as an example to others. As such it is completely unacceptable that neither Jagtar’s lawyer nor a representative of the British high commission were permitted to attend the court proceedings on Friday 10 November. “As chair of the APPGBS, I, and my colleagues, urge you to investigate the matter with utmost urgency and ensure that Jagtar’s rights as British citizen are preserved.”
Meanwhile, Sikh Federation UK said the head of consular policy in an email to Johal’s family confirmed that the British high commission in India raised the issue of consular access with the Union ministry of external affairs. “Today, our deputy high commission raised the access point with his counter-part at the ministry of external affairs. If this does not lead to access in the near future, then we will escalate our lobbying efforts,” the email said.