The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today raised doubts over the claims of the Punjab Police about the involvement of a British national in targeted killings in the state and asked the Congress government to give evidence to prove his complicity.
The UK citizen, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi, was among five accused arrested in connection with targeted killings, including that of RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja. Johal, who got married last month, was apprehended from Jalandhar.
The Punjab Police had claimed that it had "sufficient" evidence to prove the complicity of Johal in the targeted killings.
It had also claimed Johal was involved in conspiracy, coordination, funding and arranging of weapons for members of the KLF module busted in connections with the targeted killings.
"We have doubts about the Jagtar Singh Johal case. Nobody is able to digest the kind of stories presented by the Punjab Police. Their claims appeared to be untrue," SAD vice president and Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said here today.
He said the case was also raised in Britain following reports that Johal was "tortured" in police custody.
"If somebody has raised suspicions ... then the state government should come forward and clear such doubts," he said.
It was important that culprits should be put behind bars. But at the same time, the state government should also ensure no innocent is punished, the MP said.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had yesterday rejected as "baseless" allegations that Johal was tortured by the Punjab Police.
His remarks had come after the UK government had said it would take "extreme action" if any British citizen was "tortured".
Earlier, AAP Punjab unit chief and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann and AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu had also raised concern over the allegations of torture.
A campaign titled 'Free Jaggi Now' is also being run on social media.
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