Senior Punjab Police Officers Allegedly Involved in Torturing British Citizen Jagtar Singh Johal

June 13, 2018 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

Chandigarh: It is learnt that names of senior Punjab police officers, including a DIG and two SSPs are also involved in relation to alleged custodial torture on arrested Scottish Sikh citizen Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi.

A few days back Jagtar Singh Jaggi’s family members and the campaigners of #FreeJaggiNow campaign had released two handwritten pages. The pages, purportedly written by Jagtar Singh Jaggi narrates the accounts of custodial torture to which arrested Briton was subjected during initial days of custody by Punjab police in November 2017. The handwritten papers did not carry any signatures or names of the police officials who had commanded or carried out the torture.

Sikh Siyasat News has now accessed more documents which does not only tend to authenticate the handwritten papers but also explains the reasons that why those papers did not carry the names of police officials or any signatures.

♦ ALSO READ: Indian Police Threatened to Burn Me Alive During Torture: says Arrested Scottish Sikh Jagtar Singh Jaggi

As per documents accessed by the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN) Jagtar Singh Jaggi’s handwritten letter dates back to February 2018 and its copy was also sent to British authorities in India.

British authorities were also informed that Jagtar Singh Jaggi had not disclosed the names of police officials as there was apprehension that the letter may be taken off him during transit from jail to the court room.

♦ RELATED NEWS: Hand Written Letter of Jagtar Singh Jaggi Narrating Custodial Torture by Punjab Police

The documents reveal that Jagtar Singh Jaggi had disclosed the names of police officials verbally to his legal counsel Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur. In a solemn declaration sent to the British High Commission, Jaggi’s counsel told British authorities that Jagtar Singh Jaggi provided him details of the police officers that were party to his torture, which includes names of a DIG, two SSPs a SP and a DSP rank official. Besides this names of some Inspector, ASI level officers also there.

READ THIS NEWS In PUNJABI/GURMUKHI:

As per the documents, Jagtar Singh Johal told his lawyer that there were some more police personnel who were involved in his torture but he can not name them as he did not know their names.

The document also reveals that Jagtar Singh Jaggi has given his consent for the torture claims to be raised and investigated.

On being contacted by Sikh Siyasat News (SSN), Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur authenticated the documents and facts. ‘I have seen copies of Jagtar Singh Jaggi’ s letter circulating over the social media for past few days. That letter is authentic and written by Jagtar Singh Jaggi himself”, said he. He also confirmed that the papers were sent to the British High Commission in India.

On being questioned that the Punjab police has already rejected the torture claims in detailed written statement (copy available with Sikh Siyasat news – also published on Sikh Siyasat News in verbatim on November 20, 2017), Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur replied that he too, has already rejected Punjab police’s claims.

“When the torture was disclosed by Jagtar Singh Jaggi during a court appearance in Baghapurana back in November 2017, we had demanded independent medical examination of Jagtar Singh Jaggi to establish the fact of torture. The plea was vehemently opposed by the Punjab police”, he said, while posing counter question that “if there was nothing to hide, why the police did not agree to independent medical examination?”.

COPY OF HAND WRITTEN LETTER of JAGTAR SINGH JAGGI:

As per reports the issue of torture is being pursued by Jagtar Singh Jaggi’s family members and UK based Sikh groups.

As a result a joint urgent appeal to the Government of India was sent on 29 January 2018 by the Special Rapporteur on Torture; the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, and the Vice-Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In the urgent appeal, they called on India to respond to the serious allegations of torture and to provide information about the measures taken to prevent any further torture or ill-treatment; the legal basis for Jagtar Singh’s arrest and detention; and the results of any medical examination that may have been conducted.

It is learnt that the Indian Government has so far not respond to the UN experts.

A month earlier on 4 May 2018 Sikh Federation (UK) representatives joined Jagtar Singh Johal’s family members in Geneva for a meeting with UN officials to discuss next steps as India had not responded within the three month protocol.

The UN has now made its urgent appeal public in a report to the UN Human Rights Council that will meet from 18 June to 6 July in Geneva. Jagtar’s brother and his MP Martin Docherty-Hughes are due to meet Mark Field, the UK Foreign Minister responsible for relations with India as the UN Human Rights Council starts its 38th session.

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Related Topics: Amnesty International, Congress Government in Punjab 2017-2022, Human Rights, Indian State, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi (UK), Jaspal Singh Manjhpur (Advocate), Punjab Police, Redress, Sikh Federation UK, Sikh News UK, Sikh Political Prisoners, Sikhs in United Kingdom, Torture, UNHRC