Mansa: The Punjab government and the Jhota Action Committee reached an agreement on several key demands on Wednesday, the 23rd day of the agitation seeking justice for slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, after a meeting that lasted about five hours, TV9 Punjabi reported. The planned gherao of the Chief Minister's residence in Sangrur on November 5 has been deferred following the agreement.

Source: TV9 Punjabi

The meeting was attended by Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and senior police officials, Punjab E News reported, confirming the five-hour talks and the agreement reached at the end of them.

Source: Punjab E News

The central point of the agreement is the release of Lakha Sidhana and the other leaders lodged in jail. Action Committee media in-charge Hardeep Singh Sidhu said the release of Sidhana and the other detained leaders was the biggest issue in the meeting, and that the committee was not prepared to allow Jhota's post-mortem or last rites without their release. Under the agreement, the post-mortem will be carried out only after the detained leaders are released, and the last rites will follow it.

The government has assured compensation of Rs 2 crore and a government job for one member of Jhota's family, both outlets reported. TV9 Punjabi added that the family of Daljit Singh of Bhamme Kalan — whose death in Mansa district last month is the subject of a separate, court-monitored dispute — has also been assured a job and compensation.

Approval for a trauma centre at Khiala Kalan in Jhota's name will be granted within a week under the agreement, Sidhu said. The government side also assured a timely, high-level inquiry into the role of the concerned police and health department officials, according to both reports.

Agreement was also reached on building a memorial or statue in Jhota's memory, TV9 Punjabi reported, but there was no agreement on installing a statue at the spot where he was killed: government representatives said the site is private property, which could raise legal hurdles.

The committee had demanded the unconditional release of the arrested leaders and the cancellation of cases registered against protesters — including cases linked to Bhamme Kalan, Budhlada and the Akali Dal, the flex-banner tearing cases reported across Punjab, and cases the committee alleges were falsely registered against Jhota's father and anti-drug task force activists. The two reports say agreement was expressed on the release of the jailed leaders; they do not set out a final position on every case-withdrawal demand.

How the 23-day standoff built up

Jhota, an anti-drug activist, was shot dead on October 13 at a chemist shop in Mansa. Police have alleged that the shop owner shot him after he confronted him over the alleged sale of addictive drugs; the murder investigation is now with the CBI. His family and the Action Committee refused to allow a post-mortem or cremation until their demands were met, and the protest in Mansa ran for 23 days, drawing statewide support, marches and detentions, including the detention of Lakha Sidhana.

Earlier rounds of talks between the government panel and the Action Committee had ended without a breakthrough, with the family holding out against a post-mortem until the Chief Minister and the DGP resigned. Read: Jhota talks end without breakthrough in Mansa

What happens next turns on how quickly the assurances are carried out. The reports do not give a date for the release of the jailed leaders, and the committee's sequence — release first, then post-mortem, then last rites — means Jhota's cremation still awaits that release. TV9 Punjabi reported the post-mortem is scheduled for November 6 at PGIMER, Chandigarh.