CBI Registers FIR in Jhota Murder, Team Reaches Punjabਝੋਟਾ ਕਤਲ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੀਬੀਆਈ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਐਫਆਈਆਰ ਦਰਜ, ਟੀਮ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਪਹੁੰਚੀ

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case into the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota and taken over the probe, with a team of officers reaching Punjab on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, officials told PTI. The move comes a day after Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced the transfer.

What the CBI has done

According to The Times of India, citing PTI, the agency has registered an FIR and sent a team to examine all aspects of the killing. Jhota was shot dead on 13 October inside a medical store in Mansa while hosting a Facebook Live session. Police say store owner Ashwani Kumar fired after the activist questioned him over selling drugs to an elderly man, and that Kumar was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.

The political backdrop

Mann said on X in Punjabi on Tuesday that the government was accepting the family's demand. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after meeting families in Batala, Sangrur and Mansa, welcomed the transfer but said the cases of Gulzar Singh of Sangrur and Bikramjit Singh of Gurdaspur should also go to the CBI, the TOI and Hindustan Times reported. Punjab goes to the polls early next year.

Cremation still waiting

Seven days after the shooting, the post-mortem and cremation had still not taken place, TOI reported, as the family and supporters refused to allow the last rites until they get justice. Whether they will now agree was not clear in the reports.

Who is Parvinder Singh Jhota?

He was an anti-drug activist from Mansa known for speaking out against the alleged illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops.

Has the CBI taken over the Jhota murder case?

Yes. Officials said on 21 October that the CBI registered a case and a team has reached Punjab.

Why was the case handed to the CBI?

Mann said the government accepted the family's demand for a central probe.