The Punjab government has suspended Mansa sub-division Deputy Superintendent of Police Harjinder Singh Gill and Drug Inspector Naresh Kumar in connection with the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, TV9 Punjabi reported on Wednesday. The action, with immediate effect, came as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began its probe in Mansa.
Source: TV9 Punjabi
ABP News and TrueScoop named the two suspended officials as Gill and Kumar, and Punjabi Tribune reported that Bathinda Range Deputy Inspector General Harjit Singh confirmed the suspensions, according to Jugti. The Mansa City-2 station house officer had already been suspended earlier, on 15 October.
Source: Jugti
Suspended: DSP Harjinder Singh Gill and Drug Inspector Naresh Kumar. Confirmed by Bathinda Range DIG Harjit Singh, per Punjabi Tribune. The City-2 SHO was suspended on 15 October. Suspension is an administrative action; no finding against either official has been reported.
The suspensions followed demands by Jhota's family. His father, Bhim Singh, alleged that Jhota spoke to the DSP before going to the chemist's shop on 13 October and that the DSP was mentioned in Jhota's Facebook Live video, Punjabi Tribune reported. The family and the action committee also sought action against the drug inspector, alleging that a drug licence that had earlier been suspended was not cancelled. These are the family's allegations; no finding has been reported against either official.
A five-member CBI team reached Mansa around midnight on Tuesday, took over the case files and records from the local police station, met Jhota's family at their home and recorded their statements, TV9 Punjabi reported. The CBI has registered a fresh FIR in the case. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had announced the CBI handover on 20 October, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited Punjab, assured the family of a thorough, impartial investigation.
The post-mortem had still not been carried out on the ninth day of the family's protest. Jhota's wife, Manpreet Kaur, said a final decision would be taken after talks with the action committee, while his father said the family would not perform the cremation until justice is assured.
Jhota, an anti-drug activist who campaigned against the alleged illegal sale of addictive medicines at chemist shops, was shot dead on 13 October inside a medical store in Mansa. Chemist Ashwani Kumar is named as the main accused in the case.
This is the latest development in the Jhota case, after the CBI team arrived in Mansa and took over the investigation files. Read the earlier CBI report