Anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, in Mansa, Punjab, allegedly by a medical store owner he had confronted over the sale of addictive drugs. The killing has triggered a sharp political storm, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) directly accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government of protecting the drug mafia and suppressing whistleblowers.

How the shooting unfolded

According to reports, Jhota was conducting a live session on his Facebook account when he confronted a chemist outside his shop over the alleged illegal sale of addictive medicines. The video, lasting approximately five minutes, showed Jhota standing alongside an elderly man who claimed to have purchased drugs from the store. A heated argument broke out, and the shop owner was seen holding a pistol during the exchange. Jhota was subsequently shot dead.

The activist had built a local reputation for exposing the alleged unauthorised sale of habit-forming drugs at chemist outlets in the region. His death — captured partly on a live stream — has drawn widespread attention to what critics describe as a deeply entrenched drug supply network in Punjab.

What the BJP alleged

BJP MP Tarun Chugh alleged that whistleblowers in Punjab were being targeted by both the police and the mafia. “In Punjab, whistleblowers who speak out against drugs are facing action, sometimes from the police and sometimes from the mafia. The entire Punjab government is acting against whistleblowers at the mafia’s behest. The government should act against drug sellers based on information provided by whistleblowers,” Chugh said.

Chugh further stated that Jhota’s father had publicly alleged that his son was murdered at the behest of an AAP MLA Singla — a claim that has not been independently verified. “The matter must be investigated, and the mafia leaders responsible for damaging Punjab’s environment must be arrested,” he added.

Delhi minister levels serious allegations

Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa escalated the accusations, alleging that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, and Manish Sisodia were personally receiving large sums of money from the drug mafia — a claim that remains unsubstantiated and which the AAP government has not yet responded to publicly. “As we have repeatedly said, the drug mafia is running the Punjab government. It appears that Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are receiving large sums of money from the drug mafia,” Sirsa said.

Sirsa also alleged that Jhota had previously been picked up and tortured by the Punjab Police for speaking out against drug sellers. “Imagine this, such incidents were earlier heard of in countries like the United States and Colombia, where people who spoke against drugs were killed. Punjab has now become the same kind of state, where the police torture and imprison those who speak out against drugs, and now an anti-drug activist fighting against the menace has been murdered,” he said.

Background and broader context

Punjab has long grappled with a severe drug crisis, and the killing of an anti-drug activist in a documented public confrontation marks a disturbing escalation. This is not the first time activists and informants in the state have reportedly faced intimidation; rights groups have previously flagged the vulnerability of grassroots campaigners who operate without institutional protection.

The AAP government, which came to power in 2022 partly on a platform of eradicating the drug menace, has yet to respond formally to the BJP’s allegations. Investigators are expected to examine the video footage as primary evidence. How the state government responds — and whether it orders a high-level probe — will be closely watched in the days ahead.