Shops, markets and private schools across several districts in Punjab remained closed on Thursday during a statewide bandh called over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Protesters blocked several roads, forcing the authorities to divert traffic. Emergency services, including hospitals and chemist shops, remained operational.
Jhota's family called the Punjab bandh with the support of the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, other farmer unions and state government employee bodies. Jhota was known for speaking out against drug abuse and the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops.
Jhota was shot inside a medical store at a busy market in Mansa on Tuesday while hosting a Facebook Live. According to PTI, store owner Ashwani Kumar allegedly opened fire after Jhota questioned him over the sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man. Kumar was later taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.
The killing sparked a political row in Punjab, which is due to go to the polls early next year. Shops and markets remained closed in several places, including Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Barnala, Moga, Patiala and Mansa. Some toll plazas in Ludhiana and Patiala did not collect fees from commuters in support of the bandh.
Many private schools in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Moga and Mansa declared a holiday. In Hoshiarpur, almost all private schools and Rayat Bahra University remained closed, while hospitals, chemist shops and other essential services continued to function.
In Amritsar, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, held a protest against the Aam Aadmi Party government and burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at the Golden Gate.
The protesters accused the government of failing to control the drug problem. Pandher demanded the resignations of Mann and Punjab Police Director General Gaurav Yadav on moral grounds.
Members of Akali Dal Waris Punjab De and several Dalit organisations took out a march from Gurdwara Singh Sabha to Hoshiarpur's main market. The march was led by Karnail Singh Lovely, Mandeep Singh and Valmiki Dharam Raksha Samiti's Vikas Hans, among others.
Lovely told the media that Jhota had been killed for speaking out against drug abuse and trying to save Punjab's youth from addiction.
He blamed the system and successive governments for failing to tackle the problem and alleged that people who spoke against drugs were being targeted.
He said the anti-drug movement would not be silenced by the death of one activist, questioned the AAP government's claim that it had eliminated the drug problem and urged journalists to visit villages to assess the situation.
Protests and road blockades were also reported at Bijli Ghar Chowk in Tanda, Hajipur crossing in Dasuya and Civil Hospital Chowk in Mukerian. Roads were blocked near Sohana Chowk and the Phase 7 roundabout in Mohali, while protesters also blocked a highway in Kharar.
Raminder Singh, president of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC Contract Workers Union, told PTI that bus services on several routes had been affected.
"Buses have not been stopped, but they halted wherever roads were blocked," he said. Services on the Jalandhar-Dasuya-Mukerian-Tanda and Chandigarh routes were among those affected.
Officials told PTI that police personnel had been deployed across districts to prevent any untoward incident. Amritsar Police Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill said the situation was peaceful and police were keeping a close watch.
Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in Jagraon, Khanna, Mullanpur Dakha and Raikot in Ludhiana district. The bandh had only a partial impact in Ludhiana city, where major markets in the old city, including Chaura Bazaar, Saban Bazaar, Gur Mandi, Sarafan Bazaar and Dal Bazaar, remained open.
Some shops in Ghumar Mandi and Model Town remained closed as a mark of protest. Phagwara saw a complete shutdown, with all shops and educational institutions closed.
Jhota's father, Bhim Singh, an ex-serviceman, had earlier appealed to people to support the bandh. A joint action committee of organisations and social activists formed after the murder has demanded the resignations of Mann and Yadav, the dismissal of the Mansa senior superintendent of police, deputy superintendent of police, station house officer and drug inspector, and a CBI investigation.
On Wednesday, Mann promised the strictest punishment for the accused. Opposition leaders, however, alleged that law and order had completely collapsed and described the situation in the state as "jungle raj".
The bandh over Jhota's killing led to widespread closures and road blockades across Punjab, though essential services continued to operate.
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