A SCOTTISH Sikh held without charge in India for 140 days and said to have been tortured by prison guards faces a protracted wait for trial after his hearing was delayed for four months.

Since his arrest in November, Jagtar Singh Johal has regularly appeared in court in Punjab accused of murder and conspiracy to murder having been detained by plain-clothed police officers, shortly after being married.

A Sikh activist, Mr Johal, from Dumbarton, has been accused of conspiracy to murder Hindu leaders and being involved in the murder of a Christian priest.

News of further delays to the hearing comes as an Amnesty International report revealed there were 894 deaths of detainees in Indian judicial custody between January and August last year, and a further 74 people died in police custody.

Last night, Mr Johal’s brother Gurpreet, a lawyer, stressed that the family fear Indian authorities are attempting to delay the process of formally charging him with a crime, amid claims he acted as a Khalistani terrorist.

Gurpreet said: “It will be eight months since the application was submitted that the hearing will be heard.

“That’s a concern.

“If they haven’t [tortured Jagtar] what is the issue of having this report? They have waited until the last minute.

“This is a government we are taking on, they have more resources than us and yet they have waited until the last day. It’s concerning but we’re remaining positive.

“His wife has spoken to him and said he is okay given the situation. He said he is not being mistreated but there is still a lot of uncertainty for him. That gives us some hope.”

As the case drags on, the ordeal is taking its toll on his family.

Gurpreet said: “My kids did not want a cake [at their birthday recently]. They want to wait to have a cake when Jagtar gets home and they want to write ‘welcome home uncle’ on it.

“We won’t stop until he comes back but we’re trying to get on with things.

“It’s tough, it’s tough all around.”

The family are set to raise Jagtar’s case with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visits London next month.

“As a brother, I will have to make my voice heard,” Gurpreet said, “and we ask for the support of as many people as we can to highlight Jaggi’s case.”

Earlier this month it was reported that the UK Government is to raise its concerns over Mr Johal’s imprisonment with Indian authorities at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next month.

Mark Field, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister in charge of Asia and the Pacific, said he would “continue to raise this case at senior levels with Indian authorities”.

He added: “India as a partner in the Commonwealth.

“It is also as a partner in many other ways has a strong democratic framework which is designed to guarantee human rights.

“However, it also faces numerous challenges related to the size of development and when it comes to enforcing fundamental rights enshrined in its Constitution.”