Nearly 10 days after he had allegedly shot down anti-drug activist Palvinder Singh Jhota in broad daylight in Mansa, the Punjab Pharmacy Council has cancelled the licence of Ashwani Kumar.The licence was cancelled following a meeting held on October 20 at Education Bhawan in Mohali.The letter, a copy of which is with The Tribune, reads, “On the subject noted above, it is hereby informed that your Registration No. 51464 issued on date 10/07/2020, has been cancelled/removed from the records of Punjab Pharmacy Council by the Executive Committee during a meeting held on 20.10.2026. Your name as a pharmacist has been erased from the Register of Registered Pharmacists of Punjab Pharmacy Council under the provisions of section 36(1) (ii) of the Pharmacy Act 1948 & the Registration No. 51464′ stands cancelled/removed w.e.f. 20/10/2026,” reads the order.Earlier, drug Inspector, Mansa, Naresh Kumar, Ashwani, now suspended, has said that Ashwani was booked under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, in 2023 and was recently acquitted.He had stated the chemist’s premises had been raided nearly 10 times in the past four years, and his licence was suspended on three occasions.“But the licence was not cancelled,” said police sources, adding that intoxicants were recovered from his shop on three occasions.According to the data, the Drugs Wing of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Punjab, conducted 16,788 inspections, including joint inspections of chemist shops and unlicensed premises, between April 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026.The department also suspended licences of 520 chemists and cancelled those of 22 others for violations of the Act and rules.During the 18-month period under review, the department seized medicines worth Rs 20.64 crore (Rs 20,64,64,000) from 214 licensed and unlicensed firms for violations of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs Rules, 1945.