CHANDIGARH: With less than four months left for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections and the refusal by the families to cremate bodies due to suspected drug-related deaths as the clock ticks, the situation is metamorphosing into a tall political challenge for the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, particularly as opposition highlights the cases to question its handling of the drug menace.
The protests over bodies have emerged as a major flashpoint in the state, with families and activists refusing cremation to press for justice, accountability and compensation.
The two bodies in Mansa town of the state, known as the "land of white gold" for its cotton belt, is on the edge, belong to Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug activist shot dead on camera two weeks back, and Daljit Singh, whose family says he died of a drug overdose are waiting for cremation and a link to the state’s drug menace.
The two deaths and their link to the drug problem have triggered widespread protests in Mansa and provided the opposition parties, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP with the ammunition to launch an all-out attack on the Mann government.
A senior police officer said withholding cremation to press demands was not new, but such cases posed a challenge when linked to suspected drug deaths.
Meanwhile, the Action Committee demanding justice for anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota has announced a 24-hour protest dharnas outside the residences of Punjab government ministers and MLAs on October 31, as part of its ongoing agitation against drugs.
It also announced an emergency meeting of farmers, labourers, employees, students and other protesting organisations on October 30 to chalk out the next course of action and coordinate preparations for the planned protests.
The leader of the action committee said the agitation would continue despite government pressure, asserting that people across Punjab were prepared to intensify their struggle against drugs.
The October 30 meeting will focus on strengthening coordination among the participating organisations, planning the next phase of the joint movement and preparing for the October 31 dharnas.
The Action Committee also ruled out talks with the state government until the release of its leaders and those of the participating organisations who have been detained. It maintained that their release was a precondition for negotiations and reiterated that the agitation would continue until all demands were met.
In Mansa, the killing of Jhota triggered an unprecedented standoff as he was shot dead on October 13 after confronting a medicine shop owner and accusing him of selling drugs. Following the murder, Jhota’s family refused a post-mortem and cremation, demanding the resignation of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and director general of police Gaurav Yadav, besides a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The state government had recommended a CBI investigation and the agency has since taken up the case. But till date, the body of the deceased remains in the Mansa Civil Hospital mortuary as the protest led by his father, Bhim Singh, a retired armyman, demanding justice is in entered third week.
In the other incident in the same district on October 27 after 35-year-old marginal farmer Daljit Singh of Bhamme Kalan village was found dead near Ramanandi village. The family alleged that he died of a drug overdose, while police said the cause of death was under investigation and described the overdose claim as misinformation.
Daljit Singh’s family had alleged that he died after consuming ‘chitta’ (heroin) and demanded action against those supplying drugs. Paramjit Kaur, wife of the deceased, said that her husband had been consuming drugs for a long time but had given up the habit around three weeks ago.
She added that he had left home on his motorcycle on Tuesday morning and was answering her calls until around 9.55 am, after which his body was allegedly dumped by people travelling in a car. "His motorcycle is yet to be traced," she said.
The police have registered two FIRs, one for murder and another for attempt to murder over the attack on the police team, and arrested three persons in connection with Singh’s death.
The case has been registered on the statement of Jarnail Singh, father of deceased Daljit Singh, who is a retired junior government employee and currently works as a veterinary pharmacist.
According to a police officer, he named three people, Mandeep Singh, Gurwinder Singh and another, Mandeep Singh, all from neighbouring Ramanandi village, for the death of his son. The post-mortem examination is yet to be conducted.
Singh’s relatives blocked the Sarsa-Mansa road and attempted to take his body to the Jhota protest site. Police erected barricades using trucks at Ramdittewala Chowk to stop the procession, leading to scuffles as officers took custody of the body.
Earlier in Sangrur, the controversy took a different turn, in the death of 47-year-old Gulzar Singh took a fresh turn when a video emerged in which his family alleged that the AAP government forced them to cremate his body without their consent.
The deceased was a Dalit from Toor Banjara village, Sangrur district. The family had announced that it will not proceed with further religious rituals, including the Bhog ceremony, until action is taken against those it holds responsible.
Gulzar’s son, Lakhwinder, alleged that the family was not allowed to carry out the cremation according to their wishes and that the last rites were performed amid heavy police presence. He said the family was not allowed to see his father’s face before the cremation and did not receive his clothes or other belongings.
"The government forcibly carried out the last rites, without our consent, under heavy police pressure and presence. They did not even let us see our father’s face. We should get justice," he said, demanding the arrest of State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema for the alleged abetment of suicide.
During Cheema’s September 6 visit to lay the foundation stone for development works, the Dalit man questioned the circulation of ‘chitta’, a term commonly used for heroin, citing his own son’s addiction. Police personnel allegedly visited his home that evening to question him.
On September 7, he allegedly consumed poison after being summoned before the village panchayat to tender an unconditional apology. He died the following day. Said the protests reflected growing public frustration over the ground situation concerning drugs.
The latest victim of the state’s drug crisis, a 17-year-old Abhijot Singh, was found dead on a bed in an abandoned house in Ghattianwali Jattan village where drug users allegedly gathered to procure and consume drugs in Fazilka district on Wednesday night in a suspected drug overdose case. He died 14 months after his father allegedly died under similar circumstances.
Abhiot’s father, Harjinder Singh, had been found dead near a canal in June last year and, according to villagers, had also been injecting synthetic drugs. He was survived by his mother and grandmother, discontinued his studies after Class 10 and had returned from a de-addiction centre just two days before he was found dead, police sources said.
The villagers claim that Abhijot did not come home on Wednesday night, so the family members and locals started searching for him and found his body. They alleged that on the bed where he was found dead a syringe and silver foil were also found.
A case has been registered against five alleged accused on the complaint of Harpreet Kaur, mother of the deceased, and two persons have also been arrested. The family now has seven acres of land earlier it had 40 acres.