Indian police admit they have lost wedding ring belonging to Briton held for 8 years without conviction

He was acquitted earlier this year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting a terror group, but still faces eight other federal charges. His supporters say the cases are effectively duplicates based on the same scant evidence and should now be thrown out.

Mr Johal has denied any wrongdoing, and a UN panel ruled that he had been “arbitrarily detained” in May 2022. His family claims Mr Johal has been subjected to torture, including the administering of electric shocks, during his time in prison, and that he was forced to sign a blank document which was then made out to be a confession.

The Indian government has denied the allegations of mistreatment and said due process is being followed in all Mr Johal’s cases.

Legal campaign group Reprieve revealed that Mr Johal’s wedding ring and a gold chain – the last gift he received from his mother before she died – have been lost by the authorities in Punjab. The items were confiscated when he was arrested.

The wedding ring and gold chain are said to be worth £12,000, and the Briton was entitled to their return following his acquittal of the case brought against him in Punjab.

As his family marks eight years without Mr Johal, Reprieve shared documents in which the police in Punjab admitted they cannot find possessions that were taken from him on his initial arrest. Reprieve added that Punjab police only now admitted to losing Mr Johal’s belongings after stalling the return request for months.

Mr Johal’s wife, Gurpreet Kaur, said: “It is impossible to describe the pain of being separated from Jagtar for so long. We were just beginning our life together, full of hope and love.

“When I look at the picture of us dancing, so happy, with the rings on our fingers symbolising our vows to each other, it makes me unbearably sad. I think of the years, the life that has been taken away from us. I don’t care about the gold chain or even the ring – I just need Jagtar back to start our married life together.”

His brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, said it “should be clear by now” that the Indian authorities will only release his brother “if the UK government insists on it”.

He added: “The prime minister and the foreign secretary are the two people who can make it happen – and I’ll be stressing this when I meet Yvette Cooper in the coming weeks.”

Downing Street said “faster progress” was needed to resolve the case of Mr Johal and that Sir Keir Starmer had “consistently raised consular cases, including Jagtar Singh Johal”, with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, including when they met last month.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said: “We will continue to make clear to the government of India that faster progress is needed, and we are clear that a resolution must include an investigation into Mr Johal’s allegations of torture.”

Pressed that there had been no resolution in eight years, the spokesperson replied: “As I say, the prime minister has consistently raised this case, among others. We continue to make our position clear to the government of India.”