Stories
Grieving Father Seeks PM Modi Help After Punjab Anti-Drug Activist Murdered
- •The grieving father of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota has appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for central security intervention.
- •Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight inside a Mansa market while live-streaming a confrontation with a local chemist whom he accused of selling illicit synthetic drugs.
- •Investigators revealed the killing stemmed from a deep-seated enmity dating back to 2003, when Jhota had publicly humiliated the chemist during an earlier anti-drug campaign.
- •The tragedy highlights the escalating crisis of diverted pharmaceutical opioids and rogue medical stores in Punjab alongside traditional cross-border heroin smuggling.
- •The high-profile assassination has sparked intense political shockwaves, mass protests, and renewed debate over the safety of grassroots social reformers fighting drug syndicates.
Key Questions Answered
Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead by local chemist Ashwani Kumar while live-streaming a confrontation inside a Mansa market. Jhota had accused the store owner of illegally selling addictive pharmaceutical drugs to an elderly resident, escalating a long-standing rivalry that stemmed from a 2003 vigilante incident where Jhota had publicly humiliated the chemist.
Following the assassination, Jhota's grieving father, Bhim Singh, made an emotional direct appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for central security intervention to protect his family and grandchildren. Outraged family members and supporters also staged intense protests outside the local civil hospital, demanding structural reforms and accountability from state authorities.
While traditional cross-border heroin smuggling via drones from Pakistan remains a major challenge, law enforcement faces an escalating secondary crisis involving diverted pharmaceutical opioids. Rogue medical stores have been illicitly selling restricted substances like buprenorphine, tramadol, alprazolam, and codeine-based cough syrups, prompting grassroots activists to target neighbourhood chemist counters.
