Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar spoke to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishakar and apprised him about the situation of jailed Indian nationalist Vishal Jood lodged in an Australian prison after he went toe to toe against the Khalistan supporters. The state CM requested the EAM to expedite the process and secure Jood’s release. Consequently, the EAM, exuding confidence, assured Khattar that Jood will soon be released.
“Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking his immediate intervention to secure release of Haryanvi youth Vishal Jood, who is currently lodged in a prison in Australia,” said a tweet from the state’s Directorate of Information, Public Relations and Languages Department.
ऑस्ट्रेलिया की जेल में बंद हरियाणवी युवक विशाल जूड की तत्काल रिहाई के लिए मुख्यमंत्री श्री मनोहर लाल ने विदेश मंत्री श्री एस.जयशंकर से बात की और मामले में तत्काल हस्तक्षेप करने की अपील की। विदेश मंत्री ने ऑस्ट्रेलियन एंबेसी को भारत की चिंता से अवगत कराया है।
— DPR Haryana (@DiprHaryana) June 23, 2021
“The External Affairs Minister assured the Chief Minister that Vishal Jood would be released from the Australian prison very soon. For the honour of the Tricolour in Sydney, Haryana’s young Vishal Jood fought firmly with anti-national forces and did not allow the Tricolour to be insulted” the tweet thread further said.
“There are also a lot of demonstrations taking place in Australia in support of Vishal. Vishal’s supporters claim that some anti-national forces beat him up and later implicated him in a false case after which he was sent to jail,”
The Ror community—to which Jood belongs had been protesting in Karnal and Kurukshetra districts and pressuring Khattar to take a more proactive approach on the issue. Owing to the pressure, Khattar dialled up the EAM.
Reported by TFI, Vishal Jood’s family has claimed the police have acted under pressure from Khalistani groups to frame him. In fact, his family has claimed that Vishal’s only fault was that he tried to take out a tricolour rally in support of India. That seems to have upset a few Khalistani groups back in Australia.
Read More: Support grows for jailed Indian nationalist who took on Khalistanis in Australia
Meanwhile, according to Australian media, Vishal Jood was living in Australia on an expired visa and is now facing deportation. On their part, Australian police have claimed that Jood’s crimes have been caught on CCTV cameras.
It is believed that Vishal Jood was the person involved in a Harris Park brawl last year when Khalistanis were beaten up by Indian nationalists for their anti-India views. When Jassi, a Khalistani, started posting anti-India content on TikTok, a Haryanvi (most probably Vishal) strongly objected to the videos and engaged in a video war. This led to an organised brawl after both the persons managed to convince their friends for a group fight in Harris Park.
With the diplomatic and bilateral relations between New Delhi and Canberra at an all-time high, it is expected that the EAM will swiftly secure Jood’s release.
