The CBI has taken over the investigation into the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Punjab's Mansa, with a team of experts reaching the state to examine all angles of the killing, officials said on Wednesday.
The agency has constituted a special team comprising drug controllers, forensic experts and GST officials, which reached Mansa on Tuesday night and formally requested the police to hand over documents related to the case, they said.
According to the officials, the CBI team reached the victim's house and met the family.
The post-mortem examination will be conducted at PGIMER, Chandigarh, by a team of experts, while a magistrate will conduct the inquest in Chandigarh, they added.
The CBI's takeover follows the Punjab government's Department of Home Affairs granting consent on October 20 for the central agency to exercise its powers and jurisdiction across the state for the investigation.
The Department of Personnel and Training issued a notification on Wednesday extending the agency's powers and jurisdiction to the entire state of Punjab for this case.
CBI re-registers FIR as accused is taken into custody
Following the notification, the CBI took over the case, in which an FIR was registered at the City-2 police station in Mansa on October 14, and re-registered it as its own case.
According to the procedure, the CBI re-registers an FIR filed by the state police before conducting its investigation. The CBI's final report is based on the findings of its probe, which may or may not substantiate the allegations.
Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who allegedly opened fire at Jhota after the activist questioned him for selling drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.
The incident took place while Jhota was hosting a Facebook Live and triggered a political slugfest in Punjab, which goes to polls early next year.
The case was registered against Kumar under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, relating to murder, voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons, criminal conspiracy with common intention and unlawful possession of weapons.
Punjab government hands over case after family's demand
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann announced on Tuesday that the CBI would investigate the killing.
"We stand firmly with the father and the family of Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was fighting against drugs. Accepting the demand of the family, we are handing over this case to the CBI. Our fight against drug peddlers is all-out. We will not back down from whatever tough steps we have to take to make Punjab drug-free," Mann said in a post on X in Punjabi.
Jhota's family had been demanding a CBI probe into the murder.
Known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight inside a medical store in a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13.