CBI Takes Over Punjab Anti-Drug Activist Murder Case

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Wednesday took over the investigation into the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Punjab's Mansa district and re-registered the FIR following a notification from the Centre extending its jurisdiction to the case.

The agency constituted a special team comprising drug controllers, forensic experts and GST officials. The team reached Mansa on Tuesday night and formally requested the Punjab Police to hand over case records.

Officials said the post-mortem examination would be conducted by a panel of experts at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, where a magistrate would also conduct the inquest.

The takeover followed the Punjab home department's consent on October 20 to the CBI investigating the case. The Department of Personnel and Training subsequently issued a notification extending the agency's jurisdiction across Punjab for the investigation.

The original FIR was registered at the City-2 police station in Mansa on October 14. Under the prescribed procedure, the CBI re-registers the state police FIR before beginning its investigation.

Jhota was shot dead inside a medical store in a busy Mansa marketplace on October 13 while conducting a Facebook Live session.

Police arrested storeowner Ashwani Kumar from Salasar in Rajasthan. Kumar allegedly opened fire after Jhota questioned him over the sale of drugs to an elderly man.

The case was registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced on Tuesday that the case would be handed over to the CBI following demands from Jhota's family.

"We stand firmly with the father and the family of Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was fighting against drugs. Accepting the demand of the family, we are handing over this case to the CBI. Our fight against drug peddlers is all-out. We will not back down from whatever tough steps we have to take to make Punjab drug-free," Mann said in a post on X in Punjabi.

Jhota was known for campaigning against the alleged illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops. His killing has triggered a political controversy in Punjab ahead of next year's Assembly elections.