SAA event in Punjab, Mansa District area, India on Tue 13th October 2026

Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh, popularly known as Parvinder Jhota, was shot dead, while four of his associates were injured, by chemist shop owner Ashwani Kumar during a livestreamed confrontation over the alleged sale of drugs to an elderly man, at his chemist shop in Mansa District on October 13, reports The Tribune. The incident triggered widespread protests and a shutdown in parts of the town. Jhota, a former boxer facing several criminal cases, had a history of clashes with Ashwani. In July 2023, Jhota and his supporters allegedly paraded Ashwani through a market with a garland of shoes over accusations of selling banned capsules. Police subsequently booked both men in separate cases. In a video of the latest incident, Jhota and his associates are seen questioning Ashwani, demanding CCTV footage and challenging him over his possession of a pistol. Moments before the shooting, Jhota allegedly taunted him, saying, “Kadh le pistol, fire maar” (Take out your pistol and fire). The argument continued for nearly four minutes before Ashwani allegedly opened fire. Jhota sustained three bullet wounds—two in the abdomen and one in the right thigh.|Later on October 13, police arrested chemist shop owner Ashwani Kumar, the main accused in the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Jhota, along with the pistol allegedly used in the crime, in Rajasthan, and another person who allegedly assisted him in Punjab, reports The Tribune. Bathinda Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harjeet Singh said the killing stemmed from longstanding personal enmity.