British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal, who was granted bail
Whenever evidence against Jagtar is tested in court, judges find what we’ve said all along, which is that there isn’t any. ” Scotland-born Johal, arrested shortly after his 2017 wedding, was named as an accused in eight cases of attempted murder in Punjab and booked by NIA under UAPA.
His brother Gurpreet Singh Johal, a solicitor in Dumbarton, where Johal’s wife Gurpreet Kaur Johal also lives, said, “The past two years have been an expensive rollercoaster, contesting bails at Supreme Court and back to the high court in India. The probe was transferred from Punjab Police to NIA after the offences were identified to be a part of a “transnational conspiracy”. NIA accused Johal of being an “active member” of the “terrorist gang” KLF.
Now, all I can think about is Jagtar walking out of prison. We have waited so long and fought so hard for this moment.
HC heard Johal’s bail appeals in the remaining seven case together Friday and said, “We find the appellant has remained in custody for more than eight years… Only 40 witnesses have so far been examined and we are informed there are another 123 witnesses whose testimony is yet to be recorded… It rejected NIA’s claim certain witnesses alleged they were threatened and that, if released, Johal might influence the trial. Trial is certainly not likely to conclude any time soon.