Starmer raises case of Scot detained in India during meeting with Modi

Sir Keir Starmer is believed to have raised the case of a Scottish man detained in India for years, with the country’s prime minister.

The Prime Minister met Narendra Modi on Thursday as the two countries signed a trade deal

It is understood that Starmer raised the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh activist from Dumbarton near Glasgow, who was arrested while in India for his wedding in 2017.

Mr Johal’s brother Gurpreet had suggested the meeting was a “golden” chance for the UK Government to seek to secure his release.

Mr Johan is being held in custody by the Indian authorities, despite having been cleared of one of the cases against him earlier this year.

The Sikh rights campaigner and blogger was born in Glasgow and grew up in Dumbarton.

He still faces charges at a federal level, which his supporters, who claim an initial confession he made was as a result of torture, fear could take years to come to a conclusion.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, Scottish secretary Ian Murray said the issue was “complex” but the Government was working to resolve it.

“The Government are doing all we possibly can to get this resolved,” he said.

“There was a recent meeting, just at the start of June, between the Foreign Secretary and his counterpart in India to try and get these issues resolved.

“So it’s right at the top of the agenda and we can assure and reassure that we’re doing everything we possibly can to get these issues resolved as quickly as possible.”

Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in West Dunbartonshire, had earlier told BBC Radio Scotland: “Raising the case is not enough, it’s what we’ve been saying since day one.

“There’s a golden opportunity here for the Prime Minister now, prior to the deal being signed or as the deal is being signed, that he strongly calls for Jagtar to be returned to his family so he can continue his married life.”

Murray said: “The call is for these issues to be resolved and we’re all fully on the same page in terms of having to get them resolved as quickly as possible.”