Four days after the fatal shooting of anti-drug campaigner Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, his family and supporters continue to block his post-mortem and funeral proceedings, demanding absolute justice before any final rites are conducted. Jhota, a prominent local figure known for exposing the illegal trade of habit-forming pharmaceutical substances, was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store in a crowded marketplace on October 13 while broadcasting a Facebook Live stream.
The primary suspect, medical store operator Ashwani Kumar, allegedly opened fire on Jhota during a confrontation regarding the sale of addictive pills to an elderly man, prompting a brief escape before law enforcement apprehended him in Salasar, Rajasthan. With the state preparing for upcoming assembly elections, the killing has sparked an intense political confrontation, while the Mansa district administration has moved to formally revoke Kumar’s arms license as Jhota’s body remains at the local Civil Hospital mortuary.
Meanwhile, continuous demonstrations have paralyzed the region, highlighted by a massive sit-in on the Mansa-Sirsa highway at the Tinkoni intersection near the Deputy Commissioner’s residence, and rising civic tension that saw local AAP MLA Vijay Singla face hostile protests from Nihang Sikhs outside the hospital.
The high-profile tragedy has drawn numerous political factions to the protest hub, including Akali Dal Waris Punjab De leader Tarsem Singh and Punjab BJP President Kewal Singh Dhillon, the latter of whom met with the grieving family, demanded a formal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, and urged citizens across the state to wear black turbans and dupattas in open defiance of the ruling AAP administration.
