Parvinder Jhota’s post-mortem completed at PGIMER, cremation scheduled for Sunday

The post-mortem examination of slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was completed at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh on Saturday, nearly 25 days after he was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa. His body was handed over to the family, which is expected to take it back to Mansa early Sunday for the last rites.

The examination had initially been scheduled for Friday but was postponed after doctors found that the body was extremely frozen, having remained in cold storage at the Mansa Civil Hospital mortuary for more than three weeks. A PGIMER official said the body needed to reach a suitable temperature before an internal examination could be conducted. The external examination had already been completed.

Action committee member Gopal Sidhu confirmed on Saturday that the post-mortem had been completed and the body handed over to the family. Nihang leader Raja Raj Singh said the cremation was expected to take place at around noon on Sunday.

Jhota’s father rejects compensation, demands SSP’s transfer

Despite the Punjab government’s announcement of ₹2 crore in compensation for the family and a government job for Jhota’s wife, Manpreet Kaur, his father, Bhim Singh, said the family would not accept either offer.

The former serviceman announced an indefinite fast outside PGIMER, demanding the transfer of Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chaudhary. He also sought an investigation into the officer’s alleged role in the circumstances surrounding his son’s death.

“I will not eat anything, whether I die today or tomorrow, until the SSP is removed. My appeal to the people of Punjab is that if I die during the fast, they should end the drug menace in the state,” Bhim Singh said, while alleging corruption in the state government.

He also said the family would return to Mansa with Jhota’s body after the post-mortem for the last rites. According to reports, he was upset over social media claims that the family had accepted the compensation and that money had also been raised for them through crowdfunding. Jhota’s mother, Amarjit Kaur, has also said the family neither sought nor wanted financial assistance.

However, Additional Director General of Police Gautam Cheema, who was part of the government delegation involved in negotiations, said the transfer of the Mansa SSP had neither been raised nor discussed during the talks. He described the demand as Bhim Singh’s personal position.

Government agreement ends weeks-long deadlock

Jhota, 42, was shot dead at a medical store in Mansa on October 13 after he allegedly confronted the shop owner over the sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man. Four of his companions were also injured in the firing. The accused pharmacy owner was subsequently arrested.

His body remained at the Mansa Civil Hospital mortuary for more than three weeks as the family and the Joint Action Committee continued their agitation, refusing to allow the post-mortem and cremation until their demands were addressed.

A breakthrough came on November 4 after a meeting between the family, protest representatives and a government delegation that included Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. The government agreed to provide ₹2 crore in compensation and a government job to Jhota’s wife, besides accepting several other demands.

The administration also agreed to release arrested protesters and withdraw cases registered against them during the agitation. Among those released from Nabha district jail on Thursday evening were gangster-turned-politician Lakhvir Singh, alias Lakha Sidhana, and Mohanjit Singh Shero. Nine other protesters arrested in separate cases were also released from jail.

The body was subsequently shifted from Mansa to PGIMER in an ambulance late Thursday night, reaching Chandigarh early Friday. The post-mortem was delayed because of its frozen condition, pushing back the cremation schedule.

CBI probe and other demands accepted

The government has also agreed to several demands concerning accountability and support for the family. Following the family’s complaints, a deputy superintendent of police, a station house officer and a drug inspector in Mansa were suspended. The investigation into Jhota’s murder was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Other demands accepted by the government include setting up a trauma centre in Jhota’s memory, providing compensation to each of the four people injured in the shooting and installing a statue of the activist at a suitable location in Mansa.

A government-appointed panel comprising three women IAS officers had earlier stated that the government had agreed to accept 12 of the family’s 14 demands.

Meanwhile, the parents of Neha Shoree, a drug inspector who was shot dead by a pharmaceutical shop owner in Kharar in 2019, visited PGIMER to express solidarity with Jhota’s family. They also called for a fair investigation into his killing.

Although the completion of the post-mortem has cleared the way for Jhota’s last rites, his father’s demand for the transfer of the Mansa SSP has emerged as a fresh point of disagreement between the family and the state government.