Mansa, Oct 16: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, met the family of Parvinder Singh Jhota on Friday, alleging that the Punjab government and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were responsible for the death of the anti-drug activist who was killed by a medical store owner.
She added that drug smugglers have been emboldened under the government’s protection. “The family is going through immense grief, and the entire Punjab stands with them in this difficult time. We were mistaken to expect Chief Minister Mann to end the drug menace,” Harsimrat Kaur Badal said. “Drug abuse, corruption, and law and order have collapsed in Punjab. Drug smugglers are emboldened under the government’s protection, and anyone who raises their voice is shot dead,” she added.
Speaking to the reporters, she said, “I directly blame the government for this. Punjab witnessed how Mohanjeet was treated after raising his voice before the Chief Minister, and how our brother Gulzar was subjected to police brutality after pleading with the Finance Minister to stop the sale of ‘chitta’.”
“Today this is what happened to our brother Parvinder,” she added. “A man whose arms licence had been cancelled, who served a jail term and returned in 2023, and whose premises were raided repeatedly, was granted an arms licence in 2024,” she said. “A person who is a repeat offender, someone who has been jailed more than once, how can they get a licence?“ Badal asked, adding, “Will the SSP answer to that?” Badal said that the drug inspector, SSP, and DSP were all answerable for this crisis.
She further asked, “Why was the chief minister sitting in Delhi? Why does he want to go to France when his state is going through such a crisis?” She further alleged that it was a nexus of police, administration and the state government which was working as a whole towards the downfall of Punjab’s youth.
Notably, questions have been raised about the Aam Aadmi Party government for not being able to manage the drug crisis in Punjab, along with the law and order situation. Earlier, former Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, Sunil Jakhar, while taking a swipe at the Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ drive, accused it of staging theatrics in the name of combatting drugs.
Jakhar raised several questions for Punjab Chief Minister Mann and the State Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav regarding the Mansa incident and said that alongside its claims of action against drugs, the state government must explain what concrete steps it had taken against major trafficking networks and their financial transactions.
Anti-drug activist Parvinder Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight in Mansa on Tuesday while livestreaming a confrontation with a medical store owner, Ashwani Kumar, over the alleged sale of addictive drugs. The incident was captured on video and triggered widespread anger in the town.
Police registered a case based on a complaint by Jhota’s father and arrested the main accused in Rajasthan on Wednesday. Jhota had become a prominent face of the campaign against the alleged illegal sale of drugs through chemist shops in the region. His killing has renewed concerns over drug abuse, the availability of habit-forming medicines and the risks faced by people confronting suspected drug sellers.
IANS