The killing of Punjab anti-drug activist Parwinder Singh Jhota in Mansa has triggered protests, a reported attempt to set a medical store on fire and fresh demands for protection for his family, while police work to arrest the chemist accused of shooting him.
Jhota was shot after a confrontation with Ashwani Kumkar, identified by police as the owner of a medical store, over the alleged sale of prohibited substances. Jhota was taken to hospital with bullet injuries but later died. Four other people were injured in the firing, according to the report.
Police said the accused chemist had been identified and that efforts were under way to arrest him. The reported confrontation followed Jhota’s campaign against drug abuse in Punjab. He had recently accused certain medical stores of selling intoxicating pills and synthetic drugs.
Following Jhota’s death, social activist Bhanu Sidhu, described as his friend, allegedly attempted to set the medical store on fire. The incident occurred amid protests in Mansa over the killing. The report did not provide details of whether Sidhu had been arrested or whether the fire caused damage.
Jhota’s father said the family had not received protection from the Punjab government and that his grandchildren were now also facing a threat. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union home minister to arrange security for them.
“The Punjab government did not provide him with any security. Nobody protected us. Now, even my grandchildren are at risk,” he said, according to the report.
He also vowed to continue speaking against drug abuse in the state and called for a large-scale protest in Mansa. “We will continue fighting this war against drugs. As long as I am alive, I will also continue fighting against drugs in Punjab,” he said.
The allegations have placed the state’s law-and-order machinery and its anti-drug campaign under renewed political scrutiny. Former Punjab Congress president Raja Warring, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu criticised the Bhagwant Mann-led government after the killing.
Warring described the incident as a failure of the state’s law-and-order machinery and anti-drug campaign. Khaira alleged that the killing showed the influence of the drug mafia under the state government. Badal called the incident criminal negligence, while Bittu alleged that Punjab was facing fear and lawlessness. These were political statements and were not independently established in the report.
The case has therefore moved beyond a single shooting to questions about the security of citizens who publicly challenge the alleged drug trade, the state’s ability to protect vulnerable families and the enforcement response around medical stores accused of selling prohibited substances. The immediate official step reported is the police effort to arrest the identified accused.
