British national, 7 others acquitted in 2016 terror funding case in Punjab

A Punjab court on Tuesday acquitted British national Jagtar Singh Johal and seven others in an alleged terror funding case from 2016 under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, The Indian Express reported.

However, Johal, alias Jaggi, continued to face eight other cases that are being probed by the National Investigation Agency, The Times of India reported. He has been in police custody for more than seven years.

On Tuesday, Additional Session Judge Harjeet Singh of the Moga court acquitted Johal and the seven others of terror funding charges, saying that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Apart from Johal, the others acquitted in the UAPA case were Taljeet Singh (alias Jimmy), Ramandeep Singh (Bagga), Dharaminder (Gugni), Hardeep Singh (Bhalwan or Shera), Anil Kumar (Kala), Jagtar Singh (Jaggi) and Tarlok Singh (Laadi), The Times of India reported.

However, Taljeet Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh were convicted for weapon recovery under the Arms Act and sentenced to two years imprisonment.

The court had reserved its judgement in the case on February 28.

Johal, who is a native of Punjab’s Jalandhar, has been in custody since November 2017. He was listed as an accused in eight other cases for alleged terror activities, including six murders related to a series of targeted killings that took place in Punjab...

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