The Punjab Pharmacy Council has revoked the pharmacist registration of Ashwani Kumar, the medical-store operator accused in the murder case of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota, Council chairman Sunil Bansal said.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

Bansal said strict action had been taken against Kumar in connection with the murder case, and that his pharmacist registration — issued on July 10, 2020 — has now been cancelled.

The case so far

Jhota was shot dead inside a chemist shop in Punjab's Mansa district on October 13 while livestreaming on Facebook. The killing triggered protests and demands for justice, and put the alleged illegal sale of banned psychotropic substances at chemist shops under scrutiny — an allegation the investigation is examining, not an established finding.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in the case naming Kumar and other unidentified persons as accused, under Sections 103(1), 109, 118(1), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959. The CBI's Special Crime Branch in Chandigarh took over the probe after consent from the Punjab government and a Centre notification authorising the agency, and CBI Inspector Balwinder Singh has been entrusted with the investigation.

Source: ANI via Daily Prabhat

Kumar, the main accused, was arrested in Rajasthan. A CBI team led by a senior Deputy Inspector General reached Mansa to take over case records and seized material from the Punjab Police, and the agency is expected to examine Jhota's family and take assistance from forensic experts and drug controllers.

Earlier action against the shop, as reported

According to earlier reports cited in coverage of the cancellation, raids had been conducted at Kumar's premises around 10 times over the past four years and his drug licence had been suspended on three occasions. The same coverage cited Punjab government data showing that between April 2025 and September 2026, the licences of 520 medicine sellers were suspended and those of 22 others cancelled for regulatory violations across the state.

Source: Khelja

What is solid

  • The Punjab Pharmacy Council has cancelled Ashwani Kumar's pharmacist registration, which was issued on July 10, 2020, Council chairman Sunil Bansal said.
  • Jhota was shot dead inside a chemist shop in Mansa on October 13 while livestreaming; the CBI has registered an FIR naming Kumar and unidentified persons and has taken over the investigation.

What is only claimed

  • Any link between the killing and the alleged illegal sale of banned psychotropic substances at chemist shops remains under investigation — it is an allegation being examined, not a proven finding.
  • Kumar is an accused in the case; the charges against him have not been established in court.

The cancellation is the latest official action in a case that has already seen the probe handed to the CBI. Read: CBI takes over the Jhota murder probe in Mansa