Anti-Drug Activist Shot Dead in Punjab's Mansa District

Prominent anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead in the Mansa district of Punjab on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Known for his campaign against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa. Before his activism, Jhota was a star athlete and a state-level boxer who earned the nickname 'Jhota', meaning bull. He had been running the 'Nasha Roko, Rozgaar Do' campaign for the past few years with the help of Punjab Kisan Union leader Sukhdarshan Singh. His work led to the creation of civilian "Nasha Roko Committees" in villages across Mansa and Bathinda. The activist was questioning a medical store owner over the sale of certain drugs to a man and recording the argument on his mobile phone when he was shot. The accused store owner, Ashwani Kumar, was taken into custody from Rajasthan's Salasar. Police stated that preliminary investigation points towards personal enmity as the motive, noting a previous dispute between the two individuals from 2023 when Jhota allegedly garlanded the chemist with shoes during a Facebook Live. The murder sparked political outrage and protests, with family members and supporters refusing to allow post-mortem and cremation until justice is delivered. The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab announced a CBI probe on October 20, hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Punjab and met Jhota's family. Mr. Shah later criticized the Bhagwant Mann-led government for failing to curb the drug menace. The CBI has now registered a case and taken over the investigation.

Context

Drug abuse and the illegal sale of prescription drugs through local chemist shops have remained major social and political concerns in several parts of Punjab for years. Activists and local groups frequently step in to monitor and expose such illicit trade when formal enforcement falls short. Such high-profile violent incidents often trigger intense political friction between state administrations and central authorities over law and order.