MANSA/CHANDIGARH, November 6: A prolonged confrontation between the family of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota and the Punjab government has reached a breakthrough, with the family agreeing to a post-mortem examination and the activist’s body being shifted from the Civil Hospital in Mansa to PGIMER, Chandigarh, late Thursday night. The decision brings an end to the 22-day agitation that followed Jhota’s killing on October 13 and came after a five-hour meeting between his family, members of the Joint Action Committee and a government delegation led by Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian. The body, which had remained in the Mansa hospital mortuary for more than three weeks, was transported to Chandigarh in an ambulance at around 11.45 pm on Thursday. The post-mortem was scheduled to be conducted at PGIMER on Friday, after which the family planned to take the body back to Mansa for the last rites. Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh, said the cremation would take place on Friday or Saturday, depending on the time of the family’s return. The agreement followed weeks of protests during which the family and the action committee had refused to permit the post-mortem until their principal demands were addressed. The state government has assured the family of ₹2 crore in compensation and a government job for Jhota’s wife, Manpreet Kaur. It has also agreed to withdraw cases registered against protesters and facilitate the release of those arrested during the agitation. Two prominent members of the action committee, Lakhvir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana and Mohanjit Singh Sheron, were released from jail on Thursday evening following court orders. The government has further accepted demands for a trauma centre in Jhota’s memory, compensation for the four people injured in the shooting incident and installation of a statue at a suitable location in Mansa. The proposed agreement also brought an end to the action committee’s plan to gherao Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur on November 5. Jhota was shot dead on October 13 inside a medical store in a busy Mansa marketplace. According to reports, the shooting followed a confrontation in which he had questioned the alleged sale of addictive medicines. The incident reportedly took place while he was broadcasting live on Facebook. Medical store owner Ashwani Kumar was subsequently taken into custody in Rajasthan. The killing triggered widespread anger and brought renewed attention to the drug problem in Punjab, with the family and several social organisations demanding a transparent investigation and accountability. Responding to the family’s demand, the Punjab government had transferred the murder investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The state had also suspended a police station house officer, a deputy superintendent of police and a drug inspector in connection with the matter. The protest gradually expanded beyond the family, drawing support from farmer, labour, employee, student and social organisations, while opposition parties questioned the government’s handling of the drug menace and law-and-order situation. The settlement has resolved the immediate standoff over the body and the post-mortem, but the larger test will now be the implementation of the assurances and the outcome of the CBI investigation. For the family, the next steps are the completion of the forensic examination, the last rites and continued pursuit of justice. For the Punjab government, the commitments made during the negotiations will be measured by their timely fulfilment and by whether the investigation establishes accountability in a case that has become a focal point in the state’s wider debate over drugs and public safety.
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