Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh has described anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot dead in Punjab's Mansa last week, as a martyr and demanded justice for his family, as Punjabi film stars and singers lent their voices to the growing outrage over the killing.
Dosanjh shared a picture of Jhota on his Instagram handle on Sunday. "Shaheed Parvinder Singh. The entire Punjab is with the family in this hour of grief. The family should get justice," he wrote, using the Punjabi word for martyr.
Jhota, who was known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, was shot dead in broad daylight inside a medical store in a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13. The incident took place while he was hosting a Facebook Live session, a detail that has since amplified the shock and anger surrounding the case.
According to reports, Jhota had confronted the store owner, Ashwani Kumar, after questioning him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man. Kumar opened fire at Jhota during the confrontation. The store owner was later taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan, where he had fled after the shooting.
Six days after Jhota was killed, his post-mortem and cremation are yet to take place, as his family members and supporters continue to protest in Mansa. They have refused to allow the last rites to be performed until justice is delivered, turning the town into the centre of a standoff that shows no sign of easing.
A joint action committee comprising various organisations and social activists, formed after Jhota's murder, is demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the incident. The committee has also demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, among other demands, signalling how quickly the case has escalated from a local crime into a political flashpoint.
On Sunday, actress Neeru Bajwa said she had decided to put her latest Punjabi movie, "Thaapi", on hold amid the outrage over Jhota's murder. The sports drama, which released in theatres on October 16, will be withdrawn from cinemas until the situation in Punjab improves.
"Whatever we are today, it is because of Punjab and Punjabiyat. The purpose of making the 'Thaapi' film is also the same, to bring life back to the fields of Punjab. Cinema is for the people. It can never be greater than the people," Bajwa said in a Facebook post. "We stand with Punjab in every way. We stood with Punjab and will continue to stand with Punjab," she added.
Punjabi singer Babbu Mann also visited the protest site in Mansa on Sunday and praised Jhota for his fight against drugs, joining a growing list of public figures rallying behind the activist's family.
The killing has struck a nerve in a state that has been battling a drug crisis for years. Jhota's method of activism, confronting chemist shops he accused of selling addictive substances illegally and broadcasting the confrontations live on social media, had made him a well-known figure in Mansa and a symbol of citizen-led resistance to the drug trade.
His death, on camera and in public, has turned him into a martyr for many in Punjab, a sentiment Dosanjh's tribute has now amplified to a national audience.
The case has unfolded against the backdrop of an intensifying political focus on Punjab's drug problem. Just this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Punjab, met the families of anti-drug campaigners and, at a Dussehra event in Ludhiana, symbolically burnt a "Ravana of drugs" as part of the state's anti-drug campaign. The visit underlined how central the drug issue has become to Punjab's politics, and Jhota's murder has added a tragic, human dimension to that debate.
The demands for a CBI probe reflect a lack of faith among the protesters in the state police's handling of the case. The joint action committee's call for the resignations of the Chief Minister and the DGP suggests the agitation could grow if the family and the activists do not see concrete action. The continued refusal to conduct the last rites, a deeply emotive decision in Punjabi culture, is itself a measure of how strongly the family feels about the need for justice.
For the Punjab government, the case presents a difficult test. The arrest of Ashwani Kumar from Rajasthan shows the police moved to nab the accused, but the protesters' demands go further, seeking an independent investigation and accountability at the highest levels of the state administration. How the government responds in the coming days will shape the political fallout.
Dosanjh's intervention is significant because of his stature. One of the biggest Punjabi stars in the world, with a massive following on social media and a career spanning music and cinema, his decision to call Jhota a "shaheed" gives the activist's cause a visibility that few others could. His message was simple and direct: the whole of Punjab stands with the family, and the family must get justice.
The singer has a history of speaking out on Punjab's issues, and his tribute fits a pattern of using his platform at moments of public grief. In a state where popular culture and public life are deeply intertwined, the backing of figures like Dosanjh, Bajwa and Babbu Mann carries real political weight, and the government will be acutely aware that the protest in Mansa now has the eyes of millions on it.
Neeru Bajwa's decision to pull "Thaapi" from cinemas is equally striking. For a film that had just released, withdrawing it voluntarily is a substantial commercial sacrifice, and her statement made clear that she saw no alternative. "Cinema is for the people. It can never be greater than the people," she wrote, framing the decision as a moral one rather than a strategic one.
As the protest in Mansa continues, all eyes are on whether the state government will concede to the demand for a CBI probe or offer another mechanism to reassure the family. Until then, Jhota's body remains uncremated, his family remains in protest, and Punjab's most famous voices continue to demand that his death not go in vain.
(Reporting based on The Tribune and The Hindu.)