Amit Shah to Visit Punjab on Oct 20, Likely to Meet Jhota, Bikramjit Familiesਅਮਿਤ ਸ਼ਾਹ 20 ਅਕਤੂਬਰ ਨੂੰ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਆਉਣਗੇ, ਝੋਟਾ ਤੇ ਬਿਕਰਮਜੀਤ ਦੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਿਲ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਨ

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab on Tuesday, 20 October, BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu announced on Sunday. It will be Shah's second trip to the state in under three weeks, and it comes as the drug trade and attacks on people who oppose it dominate Punjab politics.

What is planned

Bittu, a former Union minister, said on X that Punjab "welcomes" Shah on 20 October and called for decisive action against drugs. He gave no schedule. According to Rozana Spokesman, Bittu said the minister would cover Sangrur, Batala and Mansa. The Tribune, citing sources, reported that Shah is expected to meet the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, then travel to Gurdaspur to meet the family of Bikramjit Singh, and may also go to Sangrur to meet the family of labourer Gulzar Singh. The programme had not been officially published by the Home Ministry in the reports reviewed.

The three cases behind the visit

Jhota was shot dead in Mansa on 13 October; police say a medical store owner is the main accused. Two days later, on the night of 15 October, Bikramjit Singh was killed in Marri Pannwan village in Gurdaspur district. Gulzar Singh, a Dalit labourer from Toor Banjara village in Sangrur, died by suicide on 7 September, allegedly after local AAP leaders pressured him to apologise for questioning Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the sale of heroin in the village. Those are allegations, not findings.

On Friday the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote three letters to the Punjab Chief Secretary seeking factual reports on all three cases, plus an action-taken update on its Narcotics Control Vision Document 2026-2029.

Police dispute the drug link in Batala

Punjab Police have pushed back on the Batala angle. Batala SSP Mehtab Singh said the clash began as a dispute over a stolen mobile phone and not a drug feud, according to ThePrint, and a murder FIR has been registered. The MHA's interest in the case has nonetheless made it part of the wider political row.

Why it matters politically

Shah's last visit was on 30 September in Jalandhar, where he addressed a rally marking the end of the BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra, which began on 18 September. Bittu used Sunday's announcement to say that the AAP government "has lost its mandate" before completing its term, an accusation the party has not answered in the reports reviewed. The AAP government has earlier rejected the BJP's charge on drugs and pointed at drugs entering through BJP-ruled states.

When is Amit Shah visiting Punjab?

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu says Shah will visit on 20 October 2026. The detailed itinerary had not been released at the time of writing.

Which families is Amit Shah expected to meet?

Sources told The Tribune that he is likely to meet the families of Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur, and possibly Gulzar Singh's family in Sangrur.

What has the Home Ministry asked Punjab for?

It has sought detailed reports on the Jhota, Bikramjit Singh and Gulzar Singh cases from the Punjab Chief Secretary, along with an update on the Narcotics Control Vision Document.