Chandigarh, Oct 13 An anti-drug activist, known for raising his voice against illegal sale of intoxicating substances at some chemist shops, was shot dead allegedly by a medical store owner in Punjab’s Mansa district on Tuesday, police said.
The incident happened when the activist, Parvinder Singh alias Jhota, and some others were questioning the owner of the shop located at a busy market in Mansa for selling certain addictive drugs to a man, they said.
Jhota was also recording the arguments on his mobile phone. In a 5-minute-49-second video that surfaced online, Jhota could be heard saying that the medical store owner had taken out his pistol.
“Maar, maar, tun saade fire maar (Open fire at us),” Jhota could be heard telling the store owner, who then allegedly opened fire.
On this, Jhota and his companions ran out of the shop.
In another video, the medical store owner could be seen coming out of his shop brandishing a weapon and going after Jhota, who was running for cover. The video shows many people running for their lives upon spotting the chemist with a weapon.
Later, Jhota was seen lying in a nearby shop, soaked in blood. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead, police said.
Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Choudhary said efforts to nab the accused were underway.
The incident has invited widespread condemnation, especially in the wake of anti-drug campaigns conducted by the government and other political parties in the state.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Baltej Pannu promised strict action against the accused.
“The murder that took place in Mansa is highly condemnable. Information is coming in that this murder was committed by a person running a chemist shop. No person in Punjab is permitted to take the law into their own hands; strict action will be taken against the guilty,” Pannu said.
Opposition parties attacked the Bhagwant Mann government, decrying the law-and-order situation.
“Parvinder Jhota, who was fighting against the drug menace in Mansa, was shot at and subsequently died. Bhagwant Mann, will anyone who dares to speak out be killed? People of Punjab, unite and demand answers and the resignation of this government!” Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said in a post on X.
Congress MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring described Jhota’s daylight murder as a direct result of the “failed law and order” and AAP government’s “failed anti-drug drive Yudh Nashian Virudh.”
“Parminder stood up against Punjab’s drug menace, but the AAP government never supported his initiatives. His broad daylight murder exposes serious failures of the AAP government,” Warring said.
State BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon also criticised the AAP government over the law-and-order situation.
In an X post, Dhillon said, “Jungle Raj in Punjab. The brazen murder of Parvinder Jhota, who raised his voice against drugs in Mansa. The AAP government, which claims to bring ‘badlav’, should tell us, is this your change? Bhagwant Mann ji, have mercy on Punjabis, resign and spare Punjab.”
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed shock over the murder.
“This heinous murder is a stark reminder that law and order has ceased to exist in Punjab. The deceased had been continuously raising his voice against the drug menace, but no one took heed, and no one supported him,” Badal said.
“The much-hyped Yudh Nashian Virudh is nothing but a gimmick and has completely failed. Recent events have exposed how the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP dispensation is completely engrossed in looting Punjab and draining the state’s resources to enrich itself. They pay zero attention towards the deteriorating situation in the state. It is because of this criminal negligence that Punjabis are suffering every single day. This jungle raj must end,” Badal added.
(PTI News)
