A State-wide ‘bandh’ call on Thursday over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa evoked a strong response in Punjab, with markets and educational institutions remaining shut and protesters blocking roads at several places, disrupting traffic movement.
Jhota’s family had given the ‘Punjab Bandh’ call from 6 am till 5 pm with support from the Congress, Akali Dal, BJP and Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmer unions, and state government employee bodies. Known for raising his voice against drug abuse and illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa on Tuesday.
Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan. The incident, which took place while Jhota was hosting a Facebook Live, triggered a political slugfest in Punjab, which goes to polls early next year. While Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has vowed the strictest punishment for those behind the killing, opposition leaders have claimed a complete breakdown of law and order amid a “jungle raj” in the State.
Jhota’s father Bhim Singh, an ex-serviceman, had urged everyone to support the bandh call. A joint action committee comprising various organisations and social activists formed after Jhota’s murder has demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav and the dismissal of the Mansa SSP, DSP, SHO and the drug inspector. They are also demanding a CBI probe into the matter.
The family has refused to perform the last rites of Jhota, whose body is lying at the mortuary of the civil hospital in Mansa, until justice is delivered. In response to the bandh call, shops and markets remained shut at several places on Thursday, including Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Sangrur, Barnala, Moga, Patiala and Mansa. However, emergency services remained operational.
Several toll plazas, including in Ludhiana and Patiala, did not charge any fee from the commuters in support of the bandh call. Many private schools in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Moga and Mansa declared a holiday in view of the shutdown.
Protesters blocked several roads, including national highways, at multiple locations, prompting authorities to divert traffic through alternative routes.