An anti-drug activist was on Tuesday shot dead by a medical store owner after he confronted him for allegedly selling drugs in Punjab’s Mansa.

The activist, Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was known for exposing the illegal sale of addictive drugs at chemist shops, was seen questioning the chemist outside his store for “selling drugs” during a live session on his Facebook account.

In a five-minute video, Jhota was seen standing alongside an elderly man, claiming that he had bought drugs from the shop.

A heated argument then broke out between Jhota and the shop owner, who was seen holding a pistol in the video.

“Maar mujhe, maar mujhe (kill me, kill me),” he kept telling the owner.

“Why have you kept a pistol,” he asks the owner.

He was also heard telling his associates to call the police and gather more men.

In the video, Jhota can be heard asking the shopkeeper to show the CCTV footage.

The shopkeeper then asked the elderly man whether he took ‘drugs’ from him, to which Jhota responds, “Yes, we have the recording”.

The argument continued for around four minutes before the shopkeeper opened fire, killing Jhota.

Jhota’s mobile phone then fell to the ground, ending the live recording.

The shop owner is on the run.

Jhota Had Been Campaigning Against Drug Abuse

Jhota had been active in Mansa and nearby areas for several years, raising his voice against drug abuse and alleged illegal sales of intoxicating substances through certain medical stores.

Jhota, who had over 24,000 followers on Facebook, gained prominence through videos of his interventions, which circulated widely on social media.

He first came into the spotlight in 2023 following a controversy involving a medical store owner. On July 12 that year, a dispute reportedly broke out between Jhota and his supporters and a shopkeeper.

Police registered cases against Jhota and some of his associates following the controversy. He was arrested in July 2023 on allegations including assault, trespass, and rioting. He was released two months later.

BJP, Congress, Akali Leaders Target AAP

The daylight killing triggered a political confrontation in Punjab, with Opposition leaders from the BJP, Congress, and Shiromani Akali Dal targeting the Bhagwant Mann government over law and order and the effectiveness of its flagship anti-drug campaign, ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’.

BJP’s Sunil Jakhar said the murder has “exposed” the truth about the Punjab government’s campaign against drugs.

“Isn’t stopping medical drugs the responsibility of the drug inspectors,,” he asked on X.

Congress’ Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Jhota’s killing is a “direct result of the failed law and order and failed ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ of the Punjab government.

“Parvinder stood up against Punjab’s drug menace but his initiatives were never supported by the AAP government,” Warring said.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia also questioned the Mann government over its campaign against drugs.

Referring to the reported acknowledgment by the top Punjab cop that the problem of pharmaceutical drugs was growing in the state, Majithia asked what concrete steps the government had taken to curb the menace and how much of the illicit supply of intoxicating medicines had been seized.

He also questioned the accountability of drug inspectors, asking whether preventing the illegal sale of intoxicating medicines was not their responsibility.

There was no immediate reaction from the AAP leaders.

The latest killing has once again brought the issue of drug abuse and alleged illegal sales of intoxicating substances in poll-bound Punjab into focus.