Tension prevailed in Mansa for the second consecutive day on Wednesday over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, with markets, a number of educational institutes and most filling stations in the town remaining closed amid an ongoing protest demanding justice.
Meanwhile, protesters alleged that the police were detaining people at their residences, including some politicians who wanted to visit the protest site to express solidarity with them. Activist Bhana Sidhu, who is leading a parallel protest outside the Civil Hospital, where Jhota’s body is lying pending a postmortem examination, alleged that the police were also stopping people bringing ‘langar’ for the protesters. He publicly appealed to the police officers present at the hospital to allow people to bring ‘langar’ and join the protests at the two sites — outside the Civil Hospital and Tinkoni Chowk on Sirsa Road, near the Deputy Commissioner’s residence.
The police had laid several checkpoints in neighbouring districts too.
Meanwhile, former Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring reached the protest site at Tinkoni Chowk and met Jhota’s family.
Former Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring meets Parvinder Singh Jhota’s family at the protest site in Mansa on Wednesday.
Earlier, Jhota’s father, ex-serviceman Bhim Singh, alleged that his son’s murder was part of a conspiracy hatched by the state government. He claimed that his son had been killed through deceit.
He also demanded compensation for those injured in the incident on Tuesday, along with Jhota.