Mansa: Three weeks after the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian visited the bereaved family.Khudian’s visit to Bhim Singh’s house came a day after the Parvinder Singh Insaf Committee announced that it would speak only to a group of ministers accompanied by the chief secretary.The visit is being seen as an effort to persuade the family and the Insaf Committee not to go ahead with their reported plan to protest at the residence of chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur on Nov 5. The minister is learnt to have assured the family that he would arrange an official visit by a panel of ministers, as demanded by the Insaf Committee on Sunday.However, Khudian said he had come to share the bereaved family’s grief and listen to their grievances.Speaking to mediapersons after Khudian’s visit, Bhim Singh said the meeting was held in a congenial atmosphere and a meeting with govt representatives was in the offing.“He listened to us with humility, and we responded to his queries. He assured us that an official meeting may be arranged soon.”Supported by activists across the state, family members of Parvinder Singh Jhota began protesting after his murder on Oct 13. Incidentally, no minister had visited the bereaved family in the 20 days following his death.Sidhana, Mohanjit in police remandThe court of Mansa chief judicial magistrate sent Waris Punjab De functionary Lakha Sidhana and Mohanjit Singh Sheron to one-day police remand in connection with a clash between protesters and police personnel in Mansa on Oct 27. They were produced in court through video conferencing after completing their respective four-day police remand periods.Mansa police registered a case under various charges, including attempt to murder, against 40 unidentified persons after a protest following the death of Bhamme Kalan village resident Daljit Singh on Oct 27. Sidhana and Mohanjit were arrested on Oct 29 and remanded in police custody till Nov 2.The defence counsel said the prosecution told the court that Lakha Sidhana’s mobile phone and Mohanjit Singh’s sword had to be recovered, but the police had not visited the site of their arrest. It was submitted that the electronic device could be traced using scientific methods and that Mohanjit did not possess the sword. The court also allowed Sidhana to undergo a medical examination after he complained of feeling uneasy, the counsel said.Meanwhile, Waris Punjab De functionaries led by incarcerated MP Amritpal Singh’s father, Tarsem Singh, reached Lakha Sidhana’s home in Sidhana village, Bathinda, and asked people to participate in the protest at chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur on Nov 5. The Parvinder Singh Insaf Committee reiterated its demand for the release of both men, along with others detained in preventive custody, and the cancellation of the case.
