Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday visited Punjab's Gurdaspur district, which borders Pakistan, and met the family of Vikramjeet Singh, who was killed on October 15 in the Mari Pannwan village area under Hargobindpur Sahib, IANS reported. Shah spent about 15 minutes with the family at their residence, according to reports.

The family handed the Home Minister a written list of demands, including a fair and independent probe into the killing, a government job for a family member, and financial assistance. The Union Home Ministry has separately sought detailed reports from the Punjab government on recent drug-related deaths in the state.

Shah's supporters and the family describe Vikramjeet Singh as an anti-drug activist who was allegedly killed in retaliation for opposing drug sales in the locality — an allegation. Punjab Police's earlier account differs: Batala SSP Mehtab Singh told ANI on October 16 that the killing followed a dispute over a mobile-phone selfie, that it had no drug-related angle, and that an FIR under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) had been registered, with the accused identified and efforts under way to arrest him. Awaaz Punjab is reporting both versions as stated by their sources.

The Gurdaspur meeting is one of three family visits on Shah's day-long Punjab tour. He is also scheduled to meet the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and the family of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, and to attend Dussehra celebrations at Daresi Ground in Ludhiana later in the day. Ahead of the visit, the Punjab government reiterated that the Jhota murder probe would be handed to the CBI on the family's demand, IANS reported. SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government had failed to curb drug trafficking — an allegation the AAP government has disputed in the ongoing political row over Punjab's drug crisis.

Sources: IANS (via Nation Press, Dailyworld and HiIndia, October 20, 2026); India Today video report, October 20, 2026; ANI (October 16, 2026, Batala SSP statement).