In November 2017, two men stood on opposite sides of a police interrogation table in Moga. One was a British national who had travelled to India from the UK to get married. Jagtar Singh Johal, alias Jaggi, was a Sikh rights activist and blogger who, before his arrest, ran and contributed to NeverForget84.com, a website that documented the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and translated Punjabi-language material critical of the Punjab Police into English for an international audience.The other was Moga’s Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Jit Singh, a decorated officer trusted by his seniors to crack Punjab’s toughest cases.Nine years later, both men are behind bars. Their cases are entirely separate, but the paths that brought them there remain linked by a quirk of destiny.Johal was arrested by the Moga police in November 2017 on allegations that he had financed a series of 17 targeted killings of Hindu right-wing leaders in Punjab. The victims included retired Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja of the RSS, Amit Sharma and Ravinder Gosain.The arrest brought considerable recognition to the then Moga SSP, Raj Jit Singh, who was credited by the police with helping crack the conspiracy behind the killings.The case that first brought Jaggi into custody was registered at Baghapurana police station in December 2016 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act and various provisions of the IPC. Nine persons were eventually named as accused: Johal, Taljeet Singh alias Jimmy, Ramandeep Singh alias Bagga, Dharminder alias Gugni, Harminder Singh alias Mintu (whose proceedings later abated after his death), Hardeep Singh alias Bhalwan/Shera, Anil Kumar alias Kala, Jagjit Singh alias Jaggi, and Tarlok Singh alias Laadi.The years since have gone very differently for the two men.Johal’s long legal battleJohal, now lodged in Tihar Jail, has spent close to nine years fighting seven cases registered against him under the UAPA, the Arms Act and IPC provisions relating to murder. The cases are being tried by the NIA court in Delhi.In March 2025, an Additional District and Sessions Judge in Moga acquitted six of the nine accused, including Johal, in this Baghapurana case. The prosecution had examined 56 witnesses, but the court held that it had failed to prove the charges. The court also noted that part of the investigation had been conducted by an officer below the rank mandated for such cases.Three co-accused — Taljeet, Ramandeep and Hardeep — were convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to two years each.On September 18 this year, the Delhi High Court granted Johal bail in seven more cases tied to the alleged conspiracy. His counsel argued that he had already spent more than eight years in custody with only 40 of around 163 prosecution witnesses had been examined.The High Court bench invoked the Supreme Court’s rulings on Article 21 and prolonged incarceration under the UAPA. The bail order imposed conditions, including surrender of Johal’s passport and a curb on his movements and public statements.Johal, however, continues to be an accused in the murder cases and remains in judicial custody.Raj Jit Singh’s rise and fallFor Raj Jit Singh, the recognition came swiftly after the police claimed a breakthrough in the targeted-killing cases.In November 2017, then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh hosted more than 80 police personnel across ranks at his residence to recognise the force’s success in busting terror modules and cracking targeted-killing cases, including the Moga investigation.The team credited with the breakthrough included IG (Intelligence) Amit Prasad, DIG Ranbir Khatra, the Moga and Batala SSPs, and several inspectors and constables. Amarinder directed the DGP to work out a scheme for rewarding such officers.A month later, Raj Jit’s name was recommended for a second Police Medal for his role in the case. He had already received one such medal in August 2013.The second recommendation was later dropped after reports surfaced that it had been made for an officer who was already facing scrutiny in a separate matter. The episode unfolded amid an open division within the police department, with one faction backing Raj Jit as a capable investigator and another calling for him to be probed. The rift eventually reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court and became part of a wider power struggle within the police establishment over the post of DGP.Raj Jit’s fall began only months after Johal’s arrest had brought him acclaim.His deputy in the Crime Investigation Agency, Inspector Inderjit Singh, was caught by the Special Task Force with heroin, arms and unaccounted cash. Investigators soon turned their attention to Raj Jit, alleging he had used his position to shield drug smugglers and had been involved in questionable acquittals obtained by Inderjit in narcotics cases dating back to Raj Jit’s tenure as SSP, Tarn Taran.Raj Jit was dismissed from service in April 2023 after a Special Investigation Team report which, sealed for years, found evidence of his complicity.He subsequently spent much of the time since as a fugitive, evading arrest even after briefly resurfacing to join the STF probe in 2023.This week, nearly three years after he began evading arrest, Raj Jit was arrested in Patiala. He is now in police custody in connection with the same drug-nexus case that brought his career to an end.2 men, 2 cases, 1 unlikely intersectionIn 2017, Johal was the accused and Raj Jit was the police officer overseeing the investigation that brought him into custody.Nine years later, both remain caught up in the criminal justice system, but in entirely different cases.Johal is in Tihar Jail in Delhi, still fighting the NIA’s murder and terror-funding cases that followed his 2017 arrest, even after securing bail in seven cases and being acquitted in the Baghapurana case.Raj Jit is in Punjab Police custody in an unrelated drug-nexus case that surfaced after his role in the investigation that first brought Johal into custody.Their paths crossed briefly in Moga in 2017. Since then, their cases have travelled in very different directions, ultimately leaving both men behind bars.