Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh alias Jhota, who was shot dead at a chemist shop in Mansa on Tuesday, had made a name for himself by confronting suspected drug sellers and exposing the alleged illegal sale of addictive drugs.He was questioning the chemist shop owner over the sale of certain drugs to a man and recording the argument on his mobile phone when he was shot at. A live video streamed on Jhota’s Facebook page captured the confrontation.From kabaddi player to anti-drug activistOriginally from Mansa, Jhota was a freestyle kabaddi player who turned to anti-drug activism, forming an ‘Anti-Drug Task Force’ and personally apprehending alleged drug dealers before handing them over to the police.He also launched the ‘Nasha Roko, Rozgar Do’ campaign in villages, inspiring the formation of similar committees at the village level in Mansa and Bathinda.His campaign brought him into the spotlight, but his confrontational methods also led to run-ins with the police. The circumstances of his killing have brought renewed attention to a confrontation in 2023 involving Ashwani Kumar, the chemist shop owner now accused of shooting him.A campaign marked by confrontationIn July 2023, Jhota and his supporters allegedly paraded Kumar through a Mansa market with a garland of shoes around his neck, accusing him of selling banned drugs. An FIR was registered against Kumar on Jhota’s complaint, while the police later booked Jhota for allegedly taking the law into his own hands.