An anti-drug crusader was shot dead on Tuesday at a local medical store in Punjab’s Mansa district, sparking widespread outrage and putting the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the back foot over the State’s “deteriorating” law and order situation.
According to the police, Parvinder Singh Jhota was allegedly shot dead by a medical store owner when he confronted the latter for selling illegal addictive substances to a man.
Though he was rushed to hospital, doctors declared Jhota brought dead. The accused fled the spot soon after the incident and police teams have been formed to nab him.
The police said Jhota was recording the arguments on his mobile phone. In a purported video that surfaced online, Jhota could be heard saying that the medical store owner, Ashwani, had taken out his pistol.
Bathinda Range DIG Harjeet Singh said: “The police received information about the incident around 10.30 a.m. The accused appeared to have used a licensed weapon for committing the crime. His accomplice has been arrested. Efforts are on to apprehend Ashwani.”
Personal enmity
The DIG said the incident could stem from an old personal enmity between the two. “The case is being investigated thoroughly and the accused will be arrested within 24 hours,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Mansa, Vaibhav Choudhary said.
A former boxer, Jhota had been running a campaign against drug abuse in Mansa and neighbouring areas through the ‘Nasha Roko, Rozgaar Do’ drive.
After the incident, scores of people staged a protest outside Mansa civil hospital. Shops were also shut down in the town. Protesters vandalised the medical store of the accused. Jhota’s family refused to cremate the body, blaming the State government for its “failure” to curb substance abuse.
The Opposition tore into the AAP government even as supporters of the deceased blocked the Barnala-Sirsa road in Mansa.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin said the brazen daylight murder of Jhota, who raised his voice against drugs in Mansa, exposed the “extremely poor state of law and order” in Punjab under the AAP government.
“Aam Aadmi Party came to power promising a drug-free Punjab. Today, those who raise their voices against drugs are themselves in danger. This is a serious failure of the administration. If those fighting the drug mafia are not safe, then who is safe in Punjab? The people of Punjab demand answers and accountability,” said Mr. Nabin in a post on ‘X’.
‘CM must resign’
Demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation, senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “The drug mafia has become so emboldened under his [Bhagawant Mann] regime that it is now resorting to daylight killing of anti-drug activists. The manner in which Jhota was killed proves that the drug mafia does not have any fear of the law.”
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said Jhota’s murder has “exposed the grim reality” behind the AAP government’s much-publicised ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ campaign. “When those fighting against the drug menace are themselves being killed, what does it say about the government’s commitment to eradicating drugs from Punjab?” he quipped.
AAP Punjab media in-charge and State general secretary (Organisation) Baltej Pannu said, “The preliminary police point towards personal enmity behind Jhota’s murder. It must be investigated thoroughly. Whatever the personal dispute may have been, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands.”
Published - October 14, 2026 12:22 am IST