Punjab Bandh: Markets and Private Schools Shut Over Jhota Killing; Mansa SHO Suspendedਪੰਜਾਬ ਬੰਦ: ਝੋਟਾ ਕਤਲ 'ਤੇ ਬਾਜ਼ਾਰ ਬੰਦ, ਮਾਨਸਾ ਦੀ ਐਸਐਚਓ ਮੁਅੱਤਲ

Punjab observed a statewide bandh on Thursday, October 15, as markets, shops and private schools stayed shut in many towns to protest the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. The shutdown, in force from 6 am to 5 pm, was called by an action committee formed after Jhota's death and was backed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, opposition parties, farmer unions and employees' bodies. Emergency services were kept out of the bandh's scope.

In a parallel development in the case, Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chaudhary on Thursday suspended Inspector Beant Kaur, the Station House Officer of Mansa's City-2 police station, with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the SSP's office and reported by news agency ANI.

Markets shut, private schools declare a holiday

Reports from across the state said shops and markets remained closed at several places, including Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Ferozepur, while many private schools in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Moga and Mansa declared a holiday. Government schools largely functioned, though attendance was thin in several districts. In Bathinda, private buses stayed off the roads and only a few Punjab Roadways buses ran, while protesters blocked roads at some places, including the Bathinda-Mansa road near Bhaini Bagha village.

Jhota was shot dead on Tuesday morning, October 13, at a chemist shop in a busy Mansa marketplace during a confrontation over the alleged sale of intoxicating medicines, an exchange he was livestreaming on Facebook. Four other people were injured. The shop owner accused of firing the shots, Ashwani Kumar, was arrested from Salasar in Rajasthan on Wednesday and is in police custody.

Farmers protest at Amritsar's Golden Gate

In Amritsar, members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by Sarwan Singh Pandher demonstrated at the Golden Gate, burnt an effigy of the state government and demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav resign on moral grounds. Pandher told news agency IANS that Punjabis had supported the shutdown in large numbers and demanded an impartial investigation into whoever stood behind the chemist shop, whether a politician or someone from the drug trade.

Police, for their part, said the day passed peacefully. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner of Police Jaskaran Singh Teja said sufficient force had been deployed and nobody would be allowed to force shopkeepers to shut. Amritsar Police Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill likewise warned of strict action against coercion, while clarifying that traders were free to close voluntarily in support of the bandh.

Investigation widens as SHO is suspended

The suspension of the City-2 SHO is the first disciplinary action against the local police since the killing, which Jhota's family and supporters have blamed in part on a failure to act on his complaints about addictive medicines being sold in the area. A Punjabi news report also said the first information report in the case has been expanded to name the main accused's wife and two other persons, though police have not issued a detailed statement on the additions.

Jhota's father, Bhim Singh, has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, a post-mortem by a panel from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, and protection for Jhota's children. The family had held back the last rites while pressing its demands. The National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Minorities have already sought reports from the Punjab government in the case.

Why was a Punjab bandh called on October 15?

The bandh was called by an action committee, and endorsed by Jhota's family, to protest the October 13 shooting of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa and to press demands including a CBI investigation into the killing.

What remained open during the bandh?

Emergency services such as hospitals, medical stores, fire services and ambulances were exempt from the shutdown, and government schools largely functioned. Police said no one was permitted to force traders to close their shops.

What action has been taken in the Jhota case so far?

Police have arrested the accused chemist, Ashwani Kumar, from Rajasthan, and on Thursday the Mansa SSP suspended City-2 SHO Beant Kaur with immediate effect. Protesters continue to demand a CBI probe and the resignation of the chief minister and the state police chief.