Chandigarh, Oct 14: Anger against the medical store owner accused of killing anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh alias Jhota spilled onto the streets of Punjab’s Mansa town on Wednesday, with authorities razing a portion of his house and mobs setting ablaze his shop nearby to slogans and loud cheers.
Dramatic scenes unfolded in the area as an excavator razed the front portion of accused Ashwani Kumar’s house located in an alley in Veer Nagar.
People could be seen climbing the boundary walls of the nearby houses to catch a glimpse of the demolition, which, according to police, followed information about unauthorised construction on the premises.
The bulldozer action was also initiated at Kumar’s store located about 700 metres from the house, before angry mobs, including some ‘Nihangs’, ripped it apart amid heavy police presence, with a large crowd filming the act.
They vandalised the store, where Jhota was shot, with swords, sticks and stones, with the crowd raising slogans against the accused as the structure came apart brick by brick, before it was set ablaze.
The mob also dragged the furniture from the store onto the road and set it ablaze.
Jhota, known for raising his voice against drug abuse and illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, was shot in broad daylight in the busy marketplace on Tuesday.
Kumar, the medical store owner, opened fire on Jhota and his companions, allegedly after they questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man. The incident took place while the activist was hosting a Facebook Live.
The accused has been taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan, police said.
The shooting left the town simmering with tension as the activist’s supporters vandalised the medical shop, while Jhota’s family refused to cremate his body as a mark of protest.
Police on Tuesday arrested an associate of Kumar who helped him escape.
The murder drew widespread condemnation from the opposition leaders, who criticised the AAP government for a “breakdown” in law and order, and the “Jungle Raj” prevailing in the state.
They also said that Jhota’s killing raised serious questions about the safety of those who raise their voice against the drug menace in Punjab. (PTI)
