A Punjab bandh call following the killing of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota has led to barricading on roads to Mansa, deployment of heavy police force and disruption of bus services, according to a report by The Times of India.
Police began barricading the Barnala-Mansa road and other routes on Wednesday after sensing that a large gathering could assemble in the town. Loaded tipper trucks were parked along the roadside as a backup, while additional police personnel were requisitioned and deployed in Mansa and on the approach roads.
People travelling towards the town were being stopped and asked to explain the purpose of their journey. The restrictions affected ordinary road users as well as public transport. Passengers at Handiaya Chowk told The Times of India that they had been waiting for buses for a long time, but no buses had arrived. The report said buses were not plying on the affected routes.
Jhota was killed in Mansa on Tuesday. A day later, a large number of activists assembled in the Punjab town and appealed to people across the state to reach Mansa. They also backed a call for a Punjab bandh on October 15.
The immediate response has placed road access and public transport at the centre of the situation. Barricades and police checks can restrict movement into a town where gatherings are expected, but they also affect commuters, passengers and commercial vehicles using the same routes. The deployment of tipper trucks as roadside barriers indicates the scale of preparations made by the police to manage access and potential crowds.
The measures resemble arrangements made after the death by suicide of Gulzar Singh, the father of a man struggling with drug addiction, at Toor Banzara village in Sangrur on September 7. At that time, similar barricading was carried out. Senior BJP functionaries, including then state president Kewal Singh Dhillon, had to walk a long distance to reach Gulzar Singh’s residence.
The developments in Mansa have also drawn political attention. Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh reached the town and addressed a rally during the day, while activists continued to mobilise support for the bandh call.
The report does not provide details of the police investigation into Jhota’s killing, the duration of the road restrictions or a route-wise advisory for commuters. For now, the immediate confirmed effects are barricading on roads leading to Mansa, police checks, halted bus movement and preparations for a larger gathering linked to the October 15 bandh call.
