Awaaz Punjab has followed the Jhota case since the 13 October killing, including the postmortem at PGIMER Chandigarh earlier this week. Read the earlier report

Mansa, 8 November: Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was cremated in Mansa on Sunday, 26 days after he was allegedly shot dead at a medical store on 13 October. His body was handed over to the family at PGI Chandigarh after the postmortem examination and reached Mansa on Sunday morning, where it was first taken to the protest site before a large procession accompanied it to the family's ancestral land on Chakerian Road. The last rites were performed on Diwali day, with Jhota's elder son and his father jointly lighting the funeral pyre, family members, local residents and representatives of social organisations said their final farewell, and flowers were showered on the mortal remains along the route.

Relatives described Jhota as a 'warrior' who had given his life fighting drugs. Speaking to ANI, family members said they felt pride rather than only grief, and a relative, Jaspal, said the Sri Akal Takht Sahib had accorded Jhota the status of a martyr — a claim made by the family at the cremation. Speakers at the gathering demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of his death and urged young people to carry forward his campaign against substance abuse.

His father, Bhim Singh Fauji, made an emotional appeal to the youth of Punjab to resolve on Diwali to give up drugs and stay away from substance abuse, saying that would be the true tribute to his son, and appealed to people to maintain peace.

Father's allegations — labelled as allegations

In a separate statement reported the same day, Bhim Singh alleged that the Punjab government, the local police administration and drug traffickers had colluded in his son's murder. These are allegations by the bereaved father; they have not been established by any court or independent inquiry, and no response from the Punjab government or Punjab Police to Sunday's specific allegations was reported in the sources checked for this report.

According to the father's statement, the alleged actual killers and those behind the suspected political conspiracy have not been arrested, and no action has been taken against police officers he alleges were involved in the case. He appealed to the Centre — particularly the Union Home Ministry — to ensure justice by immediately transferring the local Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), and alleged that AAP political leaders were protecting the officer concerned, preventing his transfer. The family is demanding an impartial investigation into the entire case and action against all those it alleges were involved in the conspiracy.

Background

Jhota was allegedly shot dead at a medical store on 13 October. The killing triggered weeks of protest in Mansa. Awaaz Punjab's earlier coverage of the case has reported a CBI probe into the killing, the suspension of police and drug-inspector officials, the revocation of the pharmacy's registration, the family's protest and fast, and an agreement after which the postmortem was conducted at PGIMER Chandigarh. Sunday's cremation closes the long wait for the last rites, but the family's central demands — arrests of those it alleges ordered the killing, action against officials, and the SSP's transfer — remain, on the father's account, unmet.