Anti-drug activist murder: Bulldozers raze accused’s house, shop set ablaze in Punjab

Authorities have demolished the residence of Ashwani Kumar and locals burnt his shopMANSA: Enraged supporters of anti-drug activist Parwinder Singh Jhota took over the demolition of a medical store owned by Ashwani Kumar, the main accused in Jhota’s murder, and set it on fire after the administration’s JCB had demolished part of the shop.A heavy police deployment remained at the spot as the protesters pulled out medicines from the store and threw them out before setting the premises ablaze.The activists raised slogans of “Bole So Nihal” as they entered the shop and removed the medicines. One of the protesters found pregabalin capsules, which the activists said were prohibited in Punjab, and displayed them to the gathering.Locals set the accused's shop on fireThe activist said the recovery reinforced Jhota’s fight against the sale of prohibited substances and argued that he had no personal enmity with the store owner, contrary to claims attributed to the authorities.The district administration and police had initiated the demolition by bringing in JCB machines to raze Kumar’s house on Gurdwara Road and his medical store near the railway tracks in Mansa.After the JCB demolished part of the shop, the activists took over the demolition work and continued pulling it down before setting it on fire.The protesters said that, as the state government had failed to deliver justice, they were seeking “people’s justice” before the authorities could deliver justice.They also raised slogans contrasting the government’s “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign with “Yudh Nasha Rokan Walian Virudh”.Bathinda DIG Harjit Singh said the demolition had been undertaken after completing the required formalities.Before publication: Confirm the exact wording of the two Punjabi slogans and the claim that pregabalin capsules are prohibited in Punjab.The assertion that police remained a “mute spectator” has been recast neutrally; retain the stronger characterisation only if it is independently established or clearly attributed.