Jaggi Johal Released; VanDyke Release Raises Questions About ‘Bandi Singh’

October

2026

A British national from Scotland, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi Johal whom the Delhi High Court had given bail on 18 Sep, was finally released on 2 Oct. 39-year-old Jagtar was jailed for close to nine years in November 2017 for his alleged role in funding the militant group Khalistan Liberation Force, which had carried out targeted killings in Panjab. As he walked out of gate three of Tihar Jail in Delhi, Jagtar thanked 'the almighty'. Meanwhile, the Indian government has released a US citizen Matthew VanDyke, who describes himself as a 'freedom fighter'. VanDyke runs a Washington, DC-based consultancy that says it provides 'free security consulting, training, supplies, and other services to vulnerable populations'. He was detained in March 2026 by Indian authorities at Kolkata airport, along with six Ukrainian nationals who were also released. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) did not press charges against VanDyke and the six Ukrainians but kept open its Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) probe against them on the accusation that VanDyke gave training in drone warfare, drone operations, assembly, and jamming technology to the members of Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups, including the Chin National Front and the Kachin Independence Army. Indian National Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh said, 'Obviously US pressure determined this outcome, but what did India get in return?' VanDyke and the Ukrainians’ release brings the focus to Bandi Singh (Sikh prisoners), who have been in jail for up to 30 years under life imprisonment. Political outfits Misl Satluj and Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit, revival) participated in a march by Qaumi Insaaf Morcha (Community Justice Front) from Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib district to at Takht (throne) Sri Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda district on 2–3 Oct. Concurrently, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has expelled its joint secretary Roop Kaur Sandhu from the party’s primary membership after she claimed that more cases similar to the one involving former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member and SAD senior vice-president Amarjeet Singh Chawla would be exposed. Roop had first made public the allegation of rape against Chawla by the woman from Bahrain. Furthermore, the umbrella body of various Sikh organizations, Panthic Talmel Sangathan (Sikh Collective Coordination Committee), has sought clarity from SGPC on how the woman lived in an SGPC guesthouse for months, whether she approached them with her complaint, and what their response was (earlier coverage).