Anger mounts in Punjab after anti-drug crusader killed in broad daylight

Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug campaigner and former boxer, was shot dead in daylight in Punjab’s Mansa district. The shooting took place at a local medical store. The incident matters because Jhota was publicly campaigning against drug abuse, making his death a powerful symbol in Punjab’s wider law-and-order and substance-abuse debate.

Police allege that Jhota confronted medical store owner Ashwani after seeing him sell illegal addictive substances to a man. Jhota was recording their argument on his mobile phone. A video reportedly captured him saying Ashwani had taken out a pistol. Police believe the accused used a licensed weapon. Jhota was rushed to hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead.

Ashwani fled after the shooting, while police formed teams to arrest him. His alleged accomplice was arrested, according to the Bathinda Range DIG. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mansa, said the accused would be arrested within 24 hours. Police were also examining whether an older personal dispute contributed to the killing.

Parvinder Singh Jhota was a former boxer and an anti-drug activist in Mansa. He ran the ‘Nasha Roko, Rozgaar Do’ campaign across Mansa and neighbouring areas. The campaign’s name means ‘Stop Drugs, Provide Employment’. Its purpose, as presented in the article, was to oppose substance abuse while linking the response to livelihood opportunities.

Jhota’s activism put him directly into public arguments about illegal addictive substances. Police allege that he confronted a medical store owner after seeing the owner sell such substances to a man. Jhota recorded the argument on his mobile phone. He was then allegedly shot with a pistol. The police are also investigating whether an old personal enmity was involved.

His work made the killing especially significant. Supporters viewed him as someone raising his voice against drugs, while political opponents used the case to question Punjab’s law and order. The article does not provide figures showing how many people joined his campaign or how many jobs it created.

Police allege that Jhota confronted medical store owner Ashwani after seeing him sell illegal addictive substances to a man. They say Jhota was recording the argument when Ashwani allegedly used a pistol. The accused reportedly fled, while an accomplice was arrested. This account connects the immediate confrontation to suspected illegal sales, but it does not establish that a drug network planned the killing.

The claim of personal enmity is different. Bathinda Range DIG Harjeet Singh said the incident could have stemmed from an old personal dispute between the two men. That explanation focuses on their relationship and possible previous conflict. It does not necessarily explain the alleged sale of addictive substances, which police were also examining.

At this stage, the article presents both possibilities as part of an ongoing investigation. A personal dispute and a confrontation over suspected illegal sales could be related, but the police had not publicly settled the motive. Ashwani remained at large, and investigators were trying to arrest him and establish what happened.

The killing triggered a broad public reaction in Mansa. Scores of people protested outside the civil hospital after Jhota died. Shops across the town shut down, showing that the incident affected ordinary commercial life as well as political debate. The protests reflected anger over both the killing and the larger issue of substance abuse.

Supporters of the deceased also blocked the Barnala-Sirsa road in Mansa. Protesters vandalised the medical store belonging to the accused, Ashwani. Meanwhile, Jhota’s family refused to cremate his body. They blamed the State government for failing to curb substance abuse. These actions increased pressure on the administration to explain the killing and respond quickly.

The police said an accomplice had been arrested and teams were searching for Ashwani. Opposition parties demanded accountability from the AAP government. The protests therefore combined demands for justice in one murder with wider anger about drugs and public safety. The article does not report when the road blockade or cremation dispute ended.

The article does not provide a prevalence rate, survey, or total number of people affected by substance abuse in Punjab. It does show that the issue extends beyond one incident. Jhota ran an anti-drug campaign in Mansa and neighbouring areas, and the State government’s policies and promises were central to the political response.

The issue became especially contentious because the Aam Aadmi Party came to power promising a drug-free Punjab. The article also refers to the government’s ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ campaign. After Jhota’s killing, opposition leaders argued that someone fighting drugs had been left unsafe. They used the case to challenge the government’s performance.

The killing therefore turned a local shooting into a State-wide political question about substance abuse, enforcement, and public safety. BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, and Congress leaders demanded answers, with some calling for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation. The article supports the importance of the issue, but not a precise measure of its scale.

A State government is responsible for public order through policing, crime prevention, lawful investigations, and protection for residents. It must ensure that allegations are investigated fairly and that suspects are pursued. It also has to address conditions that allow illegal markets and violence to continue. These duties make a daylight killing a test of administrative effectiveness.

Opposition parties linked Jhota’s death to AAP’s record because he was campaigning against drugs. BJP president Nitin Nabin called it evidence of extremely poor law and order. Harsimrat Kaur Badal demanded Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation. Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said the killing exposed the gap between the government’s anti-drug campaign and reality.

AAP’s Baltej Pannu urged a thorough investigation but said preliminary police findings pointed to personal enmity. The government’s responsibility remains even if that motive is confirmed. It must establish the facts, arrest the accused, protect witnesses and activists, and show whether its anti-drug policies can deliver safety rather than only political promises.

Drug addiction is a condition in which a person repeatedly uses a substance despite harmful effects and difficulty stopping. It can damage health, relationships, work, and community life. Addiction matters in this article because illegal addictive substances were allegedly being sold, while Jhota was campaigning against drug abuse in Mansa and nearby areas.

Prohibition removes legal permission, but it does not automatically remove demand. When people still seek addictive substances, unlawful sellers may supply them. Illegal markets can offer large profits, recruit intermediaries, hide transactions, and use threats or violence to protect business. The article’s allegation about a medical store selling addictive substances illustrates how suspected illegal distribution can occur despite restrictions.

Governments therefore need more than bans. They must investigate sellers, disrupt supply networks, improve enforcement, and support people affected by addiction. The article focuses on a killing and does not describe treatment programmes or the wider market. It does show why drug control, policing, and public safety remain connected political concerns.