Anti-drug crusader killed in broad daylight in Punjab’s Mansa, sparking outrage
Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh was shot dead by a medical store owner in Punjab's Mansa after questioning illicit drug sales.
The activist, Parvinder Singh alias Jhota, was questioning the medical store owner over the sale of certain drugs to a man, and also recording the argument on his mobile phone, when he was shot at.
Updated - October 13, 2026 11:58 pm IST - Chandigarh
Image used for representation | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug crusader, was shot dead on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) at a local medical store in Punjab’s Mansa district, sparking widespread outrage and putting the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the back foot over the State’s deteriorating law and order.
According to the police, Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot at this morning a chemist shop in Mansa town and rushed to the local civil hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The assailants fled the spot. Several police teams have been formed to trace and arrest them.
A purported video, showed Mr. Singh in confrontation with a person at the medical store over the alleged sale of illicit drugs. Parts of the shooting were recorded in the video as the accused could be seen brandishing a weapon and firing.
Bathinda Range DIG Harjeet Singh said “The police received information about the incident around 10.30 a.m. in which anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was killed. The accused identified as Ashwani appeared to have use a licensed weapon in the killing after which he fled. The associate of the main accused has been arrested. Efforts are underway to apprehend the main accused soon.”
The DIG said the incident could stem from an old personal enmity between the two, which had also surfaced in an incident in 2023.
“The case is being investigated thoroughly and that the accused involved in the incident will be arrested within 24 hours,” said Vaibhav Choudhary, Mansa’s Senior Superintendent of Police.
Mr. Singh, a former boxer had been for past few years running a campaign against drug abuse in Mansa and neighbouring areas through ‘Nasha Roko, Rozgaar Do campaign.’ After the incident, scores of people staged a protest outside Mansa civil hospital, shops were also closed in the town. The medical store of the accused was vandalised by protesters. Mr. Singh’s family refused to cremate the body, blaming the State government for its failure to curb substance abuse.
Opposition criticises AAP Govt.
The opposition tore into the AAP government, even as the supporters of the deceased Mr. Singh blocked the Barnala-Sirsa road in Mansa, expressing their anger against the ruling AAP.
BJP’s national president Nitin Nabin said the brazen daylight murder of Mr. Singh, who raised his voice against drugs in Mansa, exposes the extremely poor state of law and order in Punjab under the AAP government.
“The Aam Aadmi Party came to power promising a drug-free Punjab. Today, those who raise their voices against drugs are themselves in danger. This is a serious failure of the administration. If those fighting the drug mafia are not safe, then who is safe in Punjab? The people of Punjab demand answers and accountability,” said Mr. Nabin in a post on ‘X’.
Demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former MP, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said “The drug mafia had become so emboldened under his regime that it was now resorting to day light killing of anti- drug activists. The manner in which anti- drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota had been killed proved that the drug mafia did not have any fear of the law.”
The Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Congress’s Partap Singh Bajwa, said Parminder’s murder has exposed the grim reality behind the AAP government’s much-publicised ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ campaign. “When those fighting against the drug menace are themselves being killed, what does it say about the government’s commitment to eradicating drugs from Punjab?” he quipped.
AAP Punjab Media In-charge and State General Secretary (Organisation) Baltej Pannu said, “The preliminary police findings pointing towards personal enmity behind Parminder Jhota’s murder must be investigated thoroughly. Whatever the personal dispute may have been, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands.”
Published - October 13, 2026 12:48 pm IST
Punjab / Drugs / narcotics & drug trafficking / police / murder
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