Family blasts Government as blogger is moved to site that's so bad British courts won't extradite people there

DETAINED Scot Jagtar Singh Johal has been moved to one of India’s most dangerous prisons, sparking fears for his safety.

- BY GEMMA RYDER

The Sikh blogger from Dumbarton, who has been arbitrarily detained in India for eight years, was transferred two weeks ago from Mandoli Prison to Tihar jail in Delhi - a facility so notorious for violence that British courts have ruled people may not be extradited there.

The move has prompted renewed calls from his outraged family to bring him home.

Gurpreet Singh Johal, Jagtar's brother, said: “Any prison in India is a dangerous place for a human rights activist but Tihar is among the very worst.

“It is terrifying to think of my brother locked up there. The risk that he could be attacked or even killed is not theoretical, it's a daily reality.

“The UK Government is playing with Jagtar's life.”

Tihar jail, one of the biggest prisons in Asia, has a reputation for chaos, overcrowding and violence. In 2023, two high-profile murders took place inside and there have been at least 23 deaths in custody in Delhi this year, including suspicious deaths and multiple suicides.