Ex-serviceman Bhim Singh, father of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, on Wednesday made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to intervene and ensure justice.
The aggrieved family, which is demanding an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has refused to cremate the body, which is kept in the Mansa civil hospital’s mortuary.
In the video, Singh said, “Please do something, intervene, before it is too late.”
A murder case was registered on Wednesday based on Singh’s complaint, in which he alleged that several politicians and government officials disliked Jhota as he had launched a campaign against drug trafficking.
The complainant also alleged the murder was premeditated, in which unnamed politicians, police personnel, and officials of the drug department are involved.
“I have no faith in the investigation being conducted by the Punjab Police. We will not perform Jhota’s last rites. The cremation would be performed after the federal agency starts investigating the case or it is handed over to a sitting judge,” Singh said.
In his complaint with police, Singh said his only son was a boxer and cricketer who had been fighting against the drug menace after being distressed by deaths caused by substance abuse in Punjab.
{{/usCountry}}In his complaint with police, Singh said his only son was a boxer and cricketer who had been fighting against the drug menace after being distressed by deaths caused by substance abuse in Punjab.
{{/usCountry}}“My son’s campaign against drugs brought him into the crosshairs of drug smugglers in Mansa and politicians and government officials allegedly involved in the trade,” he alleged in his complaint, which is part of the FIR.
According to the FIR, Singh was on his way to meet a retired subedar at the Mansa district court when he heard a gunshot. Following this, someone in the crowd shouted that Jhota had been shot, he said.
When he looked ahead, he saw his son lying in a pool of blood outside Ashwini’s medical store, the FIR said. Singh alleged that as his son ran away, Ashwani, carrying a pistol, followed him and fired shots in front of him.
Singh also alleged that Ashwani and his associates had conspired to murder his son.
Speaking to reporters in the evening, Singh condemned the incident of arson and said that anyone found engaged in such an act during the ongoing agitation for justice should not be treated as part of the protest.