Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been told he must act now to bring home a Dumbarton man imprisoned in India for more than five years.

The call comes after local MP Martin Docherty-Hughes told the Reporter he will lead a general debate in the House of Commons on Thursday on the imprisonment of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Scottish Sikh Jagtar – known as Jaggi – was arrested in India after his wedding in November 2017, accused of helping to fund a Sikh-on-Hindu assassination plot – something he and his family strongly deny.

In November, Mr Docherty-Hughes joined Mr Johal's family on the steps of Number 10 to hand in a letter and petition urging the PM to act.

Mr Docherty-Hughes said in a Tweet today: "Tomorrow I will lead a backbench debate, speaking up for my constituent Jagtar and his family.

"After five years of arbitrary detention in India, believed tortured, this young Scot now faces the death penalty.

"I urge Rishi Sunak's govt to act now, before it's too late."

An investigation by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in May 2022 there was no legal basis for Jagtar’s detention in India, citing multiple violations of his human rights – including claims he was tortured into signing a false ‘confession’, through electric shocks to his ear lobes, nipples, and genitals.

Mr Docherty-Hughes said at the time: “We have seen so many Prime Ministers and foreign secretaries during Jagtar’s five years of arbitrary detention that even I start to lose count.

 “It is a horrendous, and quite frankly, a pathetic scenario in which the British government finds itself when it deals with my constituent’s case.

 “It’s time for Rishi Sunak and the UK Foreign Secretary to defend Jagtar’s rights to a free and fair trial.

"Trade is important but it should not be at the expense of the human rights of a young Scot from Dumbarton."