Chandigarh: A Punjab anti-drug campaigner was fatally shot outside a chemist shop in Mansa on Tuesday after he confronted its owner over the alleged sale of intoxicating medicines. The attack took place while the activist was doing a live session on Facebook.
The victim, Parvinder Singh Jhota, had built a local reputation for publicly challenging medical stores accused of selling addictive drugs. Police said the accused, shop owner Ashwani Kumar, fled after the shooting.
Live Video Captures Killing
The nearly five-minute video showed Jhota outside the chemist shop with an elderly man, whom he said had purchased drugs from the store. As the exchange turned heated, Jhota repeatedly questioned the owner about the pistol in his hand.
“Maar mujhe, maar mujhe (kill me, kill me),” Jhota told the owner.
“Why have you kept a pistol,” he asked.
Jhota also urged people accompanying him to inform the police and call more men to the spot. He demanded that the shopkeeper show CCTV footage from the premises.
The owner then asked the elderly man whether he had obtained “drugs” from him. Jhota replied, “Yes, we have the recording.”
After nearly four minutes of arguing, the shop owner fired at Jhota. The activist’s phone dropped as the live broadcast ended.
Activist Who Took On Chemists
Jhota had campaigned for years across Mansa and adjoining areas against drug abuse and the alleged unlawful supply of intoxicating substances through selected medical stores.
With more than 24,000 followers on Facebook, he became widely known through videos documenting his interventions. He first attracted major attention in 2023 after a dispute with a medical store owner, as reported by NDTV.
On July 12 that year, a clash reportedly occurred between Jhota, his supporters and a shopkeeper. He was arrested in July 2023 and released after about two months, according to NDTV.
Opposition Attacks AAP
The daylight murder quickly became a political flashpoint, with leaders of the BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal accusing the Bhagwant Mann government of failing on law and order and on its anti-drug drive, ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’.
BJP leader Sunil Jakhar said the killing had “exposed” the reality behind the Punjab government’s campaign against drugs.
“Isn’t stopping medical drugs the responsibility of the drug inspectors,,” he wrote on X.
Congress leader Amarinder Singh Raja Warring described the murder as a consequence of the government’s failures.
“Parvinder stood up against Punjab’s drug menace but his initiatives were never supported by the AAP government,” Warring said.
Jhota’s killing is a “direct result of the failed law and order and failed ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ of the Punjab government,” he added.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia also questioned the Mann government’s handling of pharmaceutical drug abuse.
Citing what he said was a top Punjab police officer’s acknowledgement that the problem was growing, he asked what concrete steps had been taken and how much illicit supply of intoxicating medicines had been seized.
The Aam Aadmi Party leadership had not responded immediately.
From Kabaddi Field To Activism
A native of Mansa, Jhota was earlier a freestyle kabaddi player before taking up anti-drug activism, as reported by the Tribune. He formed an ‘Anti-Drug Task Force’ and personally caught alleged drug peddlers before handing them to the police.
He also started the ‘Nasha Roko, Rozgar Do’ campaign in villages, encouraging the creation of similar local committees in Mansa and Bathinda.
While his campaign made him a familiar face, his aggressive approach frequently brought him into conflict with the police. His killing has revived attention to his 2023 confrontation with Ashwani Kumar, the chemist now accused of shooting him.