Patiala: The daylight murder of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota in Mansa has sparked statewide protests, with farm unions, employee federations and traders backing a Punjab bandh on Oct 15 , and toll workers announcing free passage at plazas across the state. Protesters demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe and the resignations of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav , alleging administrative failure to curb drug cartels and protect whistleblowers.




Jhota, who regularly confronted suspected drug peddlers on social media, was killed on Tuesday while livestreaming outside a chemist shop in Mansa. The video showed him accusing proprietor Ashwani Kumar of selling habit-forming pharmaceutical drugs to an elderly man. Following an argument, Kumar allegedly fired several shots, killing Jhota and injuring an associate. Punjab police claimed to have arrested the prime accused in Rajasthan after a cross-state search. The killing triggered unrest in Mansa, where crowds demolished parts of the shop with a bulldozer, burnt debris and blocked the Barnala-Sirsa highway.




Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), after an emergency meeting led by Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Baldev Singh Sirsa and other leaders, backed the shutdown. It urged Punjab and Haryana high court to take suo motu cognisance of the murder and transfer the investigation to CBI. It also sought criminal accountability for local police station heads and SSPs where illicit drug sales continued openly.




BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) national convener Kaka Singh Kotra said its cadres would enforce the shutdown in rural and semi-urban areas. Punjab Toll Plaza Workers Union president Darshan Singh Laddi said toll collection would be suspended and appealed to farmer and labour organisations to join the protest. Trade bodies, including Sangrur District Vyapar Mandal led by Jaswinder Singh Prince, decided to close commercial establishments, citing law-and-order concerns.




Opposition parties and activists criticised Aam Aadmi Party’s anti-drug campaign, ‘ Yudh Nasheyan Virudh ’, and accused Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema of downplaying the killing by initially describing it as arising from personal rivalry. Security has been strengthened in sensitive districts and on major highways ahead of the bandh.