22-Day Standoff Over Jhota Murder Ends, Punjab Govt Assures Rs 2 Crore Aid

The 22-day-long deadlock over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota ended on Wednesday after his family agreed to his postmortem and cremation following a meeting with Punjab government representatives.

The breakthrough came after a nearly five-hour meeting involving Jhota's family, members of the joint action committee, Punjab Assembly S peaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

As part of the agreement, the state government assured Rs 2 crore compensation to Jhota's family and a government job for his wife. It also agreed to facilitate the release of protesters, including Lakha Sidhana, following the withdrawal of cases registered against them.

The joint action committee, which had been spearheading the agitation, subsequently agreed to suspend its proposed November 5 gherao of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann 's residence. The government also assured Rs 50 lakh compensation and a government job to a family member of Daljit Singh of Bhamme Kalan, who died on October 27.

Jhota was shot dead on October 13 inside a medical store in a crowded marketplace in Mansa. His body had remained at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital since the incident. The postmortem is expected to be conducted at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

According to the allegations, medical store owner Ashwani Kumar opened fire on Jhota after he confronted him over the sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man. Kumar was subsequently arrested from Salasar in Rajasthan.

The murder occurred while Jhota was hosting a Facebook Live session and triggered widespread protests and a political controversy in Punjab, which is scheduled to go to polls early next year. The joint action committee had also demanded the resignation of the chief minister and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.

Following the family's demand, the state government had handed over the investigation to the CBI. An SHO, a deputy superintendent of police and a drug inspector were also suspended in connection with the case.