BBC News: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the dramatic developments in Canada, where PM Trudeau has said there is credible evidence to suggest India was involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh, it is unsurprising that rumours now swirl around the deaths of other Sikh activists around the world, including in the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Avtar Singh Khanda, 35, was well known for his support of the creation of a breakaway Sikh homeland, Khalistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He died from a sudden illness in Birmingham in June, and some of those close to him insinuate there was foul play involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n West Midlands Police say they thoroughly reviewed the case and there were no suspicious circumstances and that there is no need to re-investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But British Sikhs have long talked about feeling under undue pressure, as the Indian government has openly demanded that the UK authorities do more to stamp out “extremism” within the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gurpreet Johal is a lawyer and Labour councillor from Dumbarton. He says he entered politics because of what happened to his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six years ago, Gurpreet’s brother Jagtar – a well known pro-Khalistan and Sikh rights activist – went to India to get married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Johal’s family says that in the town of Rami Mandi in Punjab, he was forced into an unmarked car. He has been in prison ever since accused of extremist activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jagtar Johal says he was tortured and forced to sign confession statements. It took years for him to be charged and he has never been tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Fair play to Justin Trudeau,” says Gurpreet Johal. “The Canadian prime minister has stood up for his citizens, whereas the UK government has failed to do so.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/emp.bbc.com\/emp\/SMPj\/2.50.6\/iframe.htmlMedia caption,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch: Trudeau accuses India in killing of Canadian Sikh<\/p>\n\n\n\n The human rights group Reprieve says it has compelling evidence that Mr Johal’s arrest in India followed a tip-off from British security agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n British Sikh organisations expressed outrage at that, but also at the fact that even after a UN working group called for the release of Jagtar Johal – saying his detention had been made on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds – the UK government has failed to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It seems like the UK government cares more about getting a trade deal with India than it does about its citizens,” says Mr Johal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Foreign Office has said that calling for Jagtar Johal’s release would not help matters and may even make things worse. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he is “committed to seeing Mr Johal’s case resolved as soon as possible”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are strong ties between India and the UK, but the issue of Sikh activism in Britain is frequently raised by Indian officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In March this year, Prime Minister Modi’s administration expressed its concern when Sikh rights and pro-Khalistan protestors vandalised the Indian High Commission in London during a demonstration. The Indian government reiterated its frequent call for Britain to deal with “extremism”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After its peak in the 1980s, support for a breakaway Sikh homeland waned in India, with all major political parties strongly opposed to the idea. But it has seen a resurgence in recent years, particularly in the Sikh diaspora.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BBC News: Given the dramatic developments in Canada, where PM Trudeau has said there is credible evidence to suggest India was involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh, it is unsurprising that rumours now swirl around the deaths of other Sikh activists around the world, including in the UK. Avtar Singh Khanda, 35, was well known for his support of the creation of a breakaway Sikh homeland, Khalistan. He died from a sudden illness in Birmingham in June, and some of those close to him insinuate there was foul play involved. West Midlands Police say they thoroughly reviewed the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-in-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35083"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35085,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35083\/revisions\/35085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}