JUSTICE campaigners today called for a frail grandfather, jailed for 11 years for drugs offences in India, to be freed after claiming he is innocent.

Ismail Adam Mitha, 69, is seriously ill with heart trouble and his relatives fear he will die before an appeal, which he has been waiting for since 2000.

His family, from the Pleckgate, Whalley Range and Revidge areas of Blackburn, want the British government to step in and secure the immediate release of a man who they say has been a British citizen for 37 years.

He has been in the Gujarat Central Jail since 1995.

They claim he was arrested after one kilo of cannabis was planted under his mattress in the village where he was staying.

His wife Amina, 70, was cleared of similar charges but has been unable to leave India because prosecutors are appealing against the ruling.

Solicitor Stephen Jakobi, director of international pressure group Fair Trials Abroad, today backed the family's case and said there were concerns that Mr Mitha had been framed because he was a Muslim and the local police were controlled by Hindus.

He added: "This is a scandal and all smacks of corruption. It is ridiculous to wait so long for an appeal and is against international law."

The family and Mr Jakobi have called for Blackburn MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to help.

Mr Straw said he understood the family's frustrations but pointed to the appeal, which is pending.

He added: "I have done a great deal about this case. I have taken up the issue with the Indian High Commission and through the Foreign Office with the Indian Government.

"This is a very complex case but I have done everything I can to try and resolve it."

Mr and Mrs Mitha divided their time between England and India, where the couple looked after a disabled relative.

In 1995, they returned to England for a wedding, but headed back to India after receiving an urgent message that ethnic tensions had flared up in their Gujarati village.

Mr Jakobi said it appeared the local police were not happy that Mr Mitha tried to reconcile the trouble and the couple were arrested.

A dozen drugs charges were brought against them relating to the many different places police claimed to have found cannabis.

It took almost five years for the trial to be concluded, during which time both Mr and Mrs Mitha were held in jail.

Mr Jakobi said police tied Mr Mitha's hands, feet and neck up whenever he appeared in court.

Mrs Mitha was cleared of all 12 charges, but she is not allowed to leave India because the prosecution appealed the decision and a date for a hearing has still not been set.

Mr Mitha was cleared of 11 charges, but was found guilty of possessing cannabis and sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Mr Jakobi said the couple's case was a top priority out of the cases of 160 Britons held in jail across the world who he was dealing with.

He added: "It is a bad case. The trial system was leisurely, even by Indian standards, which are appalling."

The couple's daughter Ruksana Mitha, 34, of Pleckgate, added: "

It has had a very bad effect on him. He was a very well respected person and had never been in trouble before."