Mansa (Punjab), Oct 21 The CBI has taken over the probe into the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota after registering a case in the matter, officials said on Wednesday, while the Congress blamed the Punjab government for allegedly failing to tackle the drug menace.
Amid mounting opposition criticism, a senior AAP leader claimed a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and a drug inspector were suspended on Wednesday in connection with the murder case.
Official word on the suspensions was awaited.
Known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13.
He was shot dead by the store owner after the activist questioned him for selling drugs to an elderly man. Jhota was hosting a Facebook Live at the time of the incident.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the investigation into the murder of Jhota after registering a case. A special team comprising drug controllers, forensic experts and GST officials reached Mansa on Tuesday night and formally requested the police to hand over documents related to the case, the officials said.
According to procedure, the CBI re-registers an FIR filed by the state police before conducting its investigation. The agency’s final report is based on the findings of its probe, which may or may not substantiate the allegations.
The CBI team reached the victim’s house and met his family, the officials said.
The post-mortem examination will be conducted at PGIMER, Chandigarh, by a team of experts, while a magistrate will conduct the inquest in Chandigarh, they said.
This comes after the Punjab government’s Department of Home Affairs granted consent on October 20 for the central agency to exercise its powers and jurisdiction across the state for the investigation.
Over a week after Jhota was shot dead, his post-mortem and cremation are yet to take place as his family members and supporters have refused to allow last rites until justice is delivered. They are protesting in Mansa.
Jhota’s body has been lying in the mortuary at the Mansa civil hospital for the past eight days.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa met Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh, here on Wednesday and assured him that the Congress would raise the matter forcefully in the Punjab assembly session beginning Thursday.
The opposition party would demand Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation in the House, Bajwa told reporters in Mansa after meeting Singh, an ex-serviceman.
The Congress leader said Jhota lost his life while fighting the drug menace and the government could not be allowed to “evade responsibility for its failure to tackle the drug crisis in Punjab”.
The LoP said the sentiment of Jhota’s father and that of every Punjabi was that this incident was a “complete failure” of the chief minister, who holds the home portfolio, and that he should resign.
“We will demand the CM’s resignation,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa alleged that the drug menace had worsened under the AAP government and the law and order situation had deteriorated.
Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon also called for Mann’s resignation.
He claimed that the AAP government had failed on multiple fronts, including governance, the fight against drugs, and law and order.
Jhota’s wife Manpreet Kaur told a gathering of protesters here that the family could not take any decision, including getting the post-mortem done, without their consent and that of the joint action committee.
The Punjab government’s three-member committee of women IAS officers — Navjot Kaur, Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar and Apnit Riyat — also met Jhota’s family and the joint action committee.
Riyat told reporters that the family and the joint action committee were apprised that the state government had already acted on their demands such as handing over the investigation to the CBI.
Later in the day, a senior AAP leader claimed that a DSP and a drug inspector had been suspended in connection with the murder case.
This takes the number of suspensions in the case to three. On October 15, the station house officer of City-2 police station was suspended amid demands for action against certain police officers.
(PTI News)
