Turn off the Terror Tap

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Jalandhar: Aug 6, 2016: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) vice president Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd) was returning home from Jyoti Chowk Market along with his wife Sudesh around 8.15 pm. As per the statement of a witness, as soon as Gagneja crossed the market, two motorcycle-borne assailants with their faces covered stopped their bike close to him. Before he could suspect anything wrong, one of the assailants pumped three bullets into him and melted into the crowd. Gagneja was taken to a private hospital where he died after 47 days.

Gagneja’s killing was followed by a string of communal killings in the state. A heap of unsolved cases and the pressure mounted by political parties forced the Punjab Government to transfer a few cases to the CBI.

Even before the Central agency could show results, the Punjab Police busted an ISI-backed terror module, arresting three people, including Jalandhar-origin UK national Jagtar Johal, allegedly the key conspirator. The police say Johal funded the module to buy weapons for killing half-a-dozen men, including Gagneja. 

Though Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said at a presser on November 6 that the module is funded by Pakistan’s ISI, Punjab DGP Suresh Arora on Friday said the terror ring was operated by the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).

Contrary to Punjab Police’s claim about Johal, people who know his family see his role with a degree of disbelief. Johal comes from village Jandiala Manjaki, a hub of pre-independence revolutionary Ghadarites. Villagers say Johal’s family is known to be simple and god-fearing. 

Narinder Johal of the village says no family from this area had ever supported a terror outfit. “There seemed to be some mess-up by the police in naming Johal as the main conspirator,” says Narinder.

Renowned NRI Sohan Singh Randhawa from Glasgow (UK) and also a close friend of Johal’s family expressed shock over Johal’s alleged involvement. “We are a very small Punjabi community of over 35,000 people in Glasgow. I know the family very well and they are very genuine people,” said Randhawa.

The Punjab Police have approached the British High Commission to get more information about Johal. Stuart Adams, director of Press and Communication, British High Commission, said the UK and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against terror. “We are providing consular assistance to a British national in Punjab,” said Adams. But he refused to divulge the name and details of the person.

It is quite surprising that even as the CBI and Punjab Police are struggling to identify the conspirators behind the killings. Johal, who was in the UK, returned to Punjab and got married at a resort in Nakodar with great pomp and show. Johal also submitted papers for permission to take his wife on honeymoon to Singapore. 

— Rachna Khaira