A demolition drive against properties linked to Ashwani Kumar, accused in the murder of anti-drug activist Parwinder Singh Jhota, escalated in Mansa on Wednesday when protesters took over the destruction of his medical store and set it on fire, according to a report by the Times of India.
The district administration and police had brought JCB machines to demolish Kumar’s house on Gurdwara Road and his medical store near the railway tracks. After a portion of the shop was pulled down, supporters of Jhota entered the premises, removed medicines and continued demolishing the structure before setting it ablaze. The action took place amid heavy police deployment.
The protesters raised slogans and described the destruction as “people’s justice”, saying they had taken matters into their own hands because the state government had failed to deliver justice. They alleged that Kumar was involved in the sale of prohibited substances, while the report identifies him as an accused in Jhota’s murder. The allegations have not been established through a court finding in the supplied report.
One protester displayed strips of pregabalin capsules and claimed that the drug was prohibited in Punjab. The demonstrators argued that Jhota had been opposing the sale of prohibited substances and had no personal enmity with the shop owner, disputing claims attributed to authorities. The supplied report does not provide an independent confirmation of the legal status of the medicines or the allegations concerning the store.
The incident followed the arrest of Kumar in Rajasthan in connection with the murder case. The demolition action therefore combined an administrative measure against properties associated with an accused person with direct intervention by protesters at the site. The episode also raised questions about how law-and-order authorities managed the transition from an official demolition operation to a crowd-led demolition and arson.
Protesters criticised the Punjab government’s anti-drug campaign, saying it was not a “war against drugs” but a campaign against people attempting to stop drugs. Jhota’s supporters linked the activist’s work to the broader issue of alleged narcotics sales in the area and said the government had not acted adequately against those allegedly involved.
Bathinda DIG Harjit Singh said the demolition action had been carried out after the requisite formalities were completed. The supplied report does not specify the legal orders, notices, ownership records or procedural documents on which the demolition was based. It also does not state whether arrests or criminal cases were registered over the arson and the protesters’ takeover of the shop.
The next steps will depend on the police investigation into Jhota’s murder, the legal proceedings against Kumar and the authorities’ response to the fire and damage at the medical store. The immediate administrative and police record of the demolition and the subsequent arson remains central to establishing accountability for both actions.
