The Central Bureau of Investigation has begun its probe into the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, registering a fresh FIR and visiting the locations linked to the shooting, while the victim’s family and protesters remain divided over consent for a postmortem at PGIMER Chandigarh.
A CBI team led by a deputy inspector general-level officer reached Mansa around midnight on Tuesday, only hours after the Punjab government transferred the investigation to the central agency. The move followed Union home minister Amit Shah’s assurance to Jhota’s family that the case would be investigated and justice delivered swiftly.
The investigators first visited Mansa City-2 police station, where the initial case had been registered. They then attempted to reconstruct the sequence of events at the pharmacy of accused Ashwani Kumar. The medical store had been partly demolished by the administration and later razed by a mob, raising concerns among the victim’s family and members of the action committee that potential evidence may have been lost.
The team also visited Jhota’s family and is learnt to have requested permission for the postmortem to be conducted at PGIMER in Chandigarh. However, Jhota’s wife, Manpreet Kaur, said the family had not consented to the procedure. She told protesters outside the civil hospital mortuary that the family had met the CBI team but had neither signed any document nor agreed to the postmortem.
The uncertainty triggered rumours at the hospital that the family had accepted the proposal. Protesters, who have been holding a morcha outside the mortuary for more than a week, disputed the reports. Kaur later urged people not to circulate unverified information and said the Insaf Committee would consider the matter. Even if the committee agrees, she said, the protesters’ views would also be sought. The committee is expected to take a decision on Thursday.
While the dispute over the autopsy continued, CBI officers brought in experts from the Chandigarh-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory and inspected several locations in Mansa. These included the demolished medical store and a nearby shoe shop where Jhota reportedly sought shelter after being shot and later died.
Investigators collected samples from both locations and spoke to shopkeepers and other people who were present on October 13, when Jhota was allegedly shot in public. They also collected records related to the case. CBI officers did not speak to the media during the visits.
Gurlabh Singh Mahal, a member of the action committee, said the committee would ask the agency to examine the demolition of Ashwani Kumar’s medical store and house. The family has also questioned the demolition, with Kaur saying they had never demanded that the accused’s properties be pulled down and describing them as potentially important case property.
The fresh FIR has been registered at the CBI Special Crime Branch police station in Chandigarh. It invokes Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder, along with provisions relating to attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal conspiracy and common intention. Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act have also been included. The Insaf Committee’s expected decision on the postmortem is the next immediate development in the investigation.
