New Delhi [India], October 21 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has re-registered the murder case of Mansa-based anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota and initiated a thorough investigation into the matter, officials said here on Wednesday.
As part of the widening probe, the central investigating agency will examine the alleged illicit nexus surrounding how banned psychotropic substances and habit-forming pharmaceutical drugs were being openly sold at chemist shops in the region, a practice the deceased activist had vehemently opposed.
According to agency sources, a CBI team will soon take over all relevant case diaries, forensic reports, and investigation records from the Punjab Police in Mansa.
The premier probe agency is also set to move the appropriate court to seek police custody of chemist Ashwine Kumar and other individuals accused in the case for sustained custodial interrogation.
Jhota, who had spearheaded a high-profile public campaign against the unregulated and illegal sale of narcotics and intoxicating medicines in Mansa, was murdered earlier this year. His death triggered massive public outrage, leading to widespread demands from various quarters for an independent and central agency investigation into the larger syndicate behind the crime.
Earlier on October 20, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met with the kin of Jhota, who was shot dead on October 13 during a confrontation with a medical store owner over the alleged sale of addictive substances.
Jhota was taken to a hospital with bullet injuries and later succumbed to them. The incident triggered protests, with farmers' and workers' organisations calling for a statewide bandh on October 15.
The Home Minister’s visit to Punjab comes amid a political debate over the drug menace in Punjab, with the BJP accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to tackle the crisis. Shah had alleged that drug traffickers dealing in 'chitta', a term commonly used for sedative and addictive substances in Punjab, were flourishing under the AAP government's protection.