CBI takes over Parvinder Jhota murder probe, team led by DIG reaches Mansa

The Central Bureau of Investigation formally took over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota on Wednesday, re-registering the case and sending a team led by a senior deputy inspector general to Mansa.

The team arrived at Mansa police station on Tuesday night after issuing a formal letter to the local police. “The CBI team reached Mansa Police Station last night to take over records and seizures,” officials said. Forensic experts, drug controllers and other specialists were on their way. Jhota’s family was due to be examined at the Mansa Circuit House at 11:30 am on Wednesday.

What the CBI will examine

Beyond the shooting itself, investigators will look at whether the killing is tied to the open sale of banned psychotropic substances at chemist shops in the area, the complaint Jhota had made his cause. The agency plans to seek custody of the main accused, chemist Ashwani Kumar, and others.

Jhota, 45, was shot dead on 13 October inside a chemist shop in Mansa while he was live-streaming on Facebook. He had confronted Kumar over the alleged sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man. The gunfire killed Jhota and wounded four others. Kumar, who owns the medical store, was later arrested at Salasar in Rajasthan. The killing set off arson at the shop and action against properties linked to the accused.

A case that became a political fight

The murder has turned into a running battle between the Aam Aadmi Party government and the BJP over Punjab’s drug problem. Jhota’s family, local action committees and opposition parties all demanded an independent investigation. After Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the state, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed the case to the CBI.

Shah met Jhota’s relatives on Tuesday and accused the state government of letting traffickers in “chitta”, the local term for addictive drugs, thrive under its protection. An AAP minister hit back, saying the Centre must stop treating Punjab’s drug crisis as a “political opportunity”.

The handover means the investigation now sits with a central agency answering to Shah’s ministry, a point both sides are likely to use as the case moves forward. The CBI’s first task is to secure the evidence gathered by Punjab Police over the past eight days and decide whom to question next.