Mansa, October 21: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case in the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Punjab's Mansa district and taken over the investigation, officials said on Wednesday, according to news agency PTI. A team of CBI officials has reached Punjab to investigate all aspects of the killing, the officials said. News agency IANS reported that the team arrived in Mansa and contacted district police officials, who handed over the case file to the central agency.

The formal takeover comes a day after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced on Tuesday that the case would be transferred to the CBI, accepting the family's demand. "We stand firmly with the father and the family of Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was fighting against drugs. Accepting the demand of the family, we are handing over this case to the CBI. Our fight against drug peddlers is all-out," Mann said in a post on X in Punjabi.

Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight on October 13 inside a medical store in a busy Mansa marketplace while he was hosting a Facebook Live session. He was known for raising his voice against the alleged illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops. According to the police version, store owner Ashwani Kumar opened fire on Jhota after the activist questioned him for allegedly selling drugs to an elderly man. Kumar was later taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan. These remain the police's allegations and the matter is now before investigators and the courts. Jhota's family and supporters had refused to perform his last rites until their demand for a central investigation was met, and had been protesting in Mansa since the killing.

Both sides: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who met Jhota's family in Mansa on Tuesday, welcomed the transfer and assured the family that the accused would be caught irrespective of their connections. Shah also urged the Punjab government to hand over two other cases — those of Gulzar Singh of Sangrur and Bikramjit Singh of Gurdaspur — to the CBI as well, saying, as reported, that neither the people of Punjab nor the BJP had trust in the AAP government's investigations in those cases. From the Punjab government side, Mann said his government would continue taking stringent measures against drug trafficking, and Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the anti-drug campaign would continue and noted that the state police had already taken action against those accused in the case. AAP leader Manish Sisodia also welcomed the transfer as a response to the family's demand.

What happens next: the CBI team is expected to record statements, including the family's, and examine all aspects of the killing, including whether anyone beyond the arrested accused was involved — conclusions will depend on the agency's findings and the legal process.

Sources: PTI (via Times of India), IANS.