Mansa, Oct 23 The family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot dead last week in Mansa, reiterated on Friday that they would not allow a post-mortem of his body until all their demands are met.
Speaking to reporters here, Jhota’s family members and a joint action committee seeking justice for Jhota said they will not allow an autopsy until Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav step down.
Earlier, the family had demanded a CBI probe into the murder, following which the Punjab government handed over the investigation to the central agency.
The family’s demands to set up a trauma centre in Jhota’s name and compensation for each of the four persons injured in the incident are being met, officials said on Friday.
They also said that a statue of Jhota will be installed at a suitable place, such as a park or a stadium.
However, Jhota’s family and the joint action committee said their key demands have not been met yet.
“Until the government accepts all our demands, we will not allow the post-mortem of Jhota,” Manpreet Kaur, the slain activist’s wife, said.
“The chief minister and the DGP must resign,” a member of the joint action committee said.
Jhota’s family has also refused to perform the last rites of the anti-drug activist, whose body is lying at the mortuary of the civil hospital in Mansa, until justice is delivered.
A three-member committee of women IAS officers – Navjot Kaur, Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar and Apnit Riyat – met Jhota’s family and the joint action committee for the third time on Friday.
Later, Riyat told reporters that the family has been apprised that the state government has already acted on their demands, such as handing over the investigation to the CBI.
They were also told about the other steps taken by the government on their demands, she said.
The Punjab government has said the autopsy will be conducted at the PGIMER in Chandigarh once the family agrees to it.
The government has already suspended an SHO, a deputy superintendent of police and a drug inspector following Jhota’s murder, Riyat said, adding that a trauma centre in Mansa will be named after the victim.
Four people were injured in the incident, and the government is bearing their treatment costs besides announcing Rs 5 lakh each to the injured, the officer said.
Known for raising his voice against drug abuse and illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13.
Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.
The incident, which took place while Jhota was hosting a Facebook Live, triggered a political slugfest in Punjab, which goes to polls early next year.
(PTI News)
