Mansa: Anger is boiling over in Mansa after the brazen murder of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota. Activists from across the state assembled in the town on Tuesday to protest the killing, and gave a call to make Thursday’s Punjab bandh successful.The demolition of the house and shop of accused Ashwani Kumar did little to ease the outrage. Social activists and supporters of Jhota from far-off places gathered to block Mansa-Sirsa Road. Political functionaries also travelled to Mansa to lend support to the protest though opposition parties said many of their functionaries were stopped from reaching Mansa.Jhota’s ex-Serviceman father Bhim Singh warned that he would drive to nakas on his motorbike and personally bring activists to town if police tried to stop them from reaching Mansa. If anything untoward happens, police would be responsible for it, he cautioned. Jhota’s family continued to decline to perform the last rites till justice is delivered.Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh, former PCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former Congress chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former SAD MP Simranjit Singh Mann, SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar and Akali Dal Waris Punjab De MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa were among a large number of political activists who addressed the protesters and pledged support till justice was delivered.Members of Nihang Singh and Sikh organisations, farmer groups, youth and student organisations stood shoulder to shoulder with members of Left-leaning organisations. Waris Punjab De alleged that its senior functionaries were put under house arrest or detained at different places to stop them from reaching Mansa.The protesters resolved to make the Punjab bandh call successful and reiterated their demand to remove the Punjab DGP from his post.
