Bathinda: Thirty-three days after anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was killed, his antim ardas was held at Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo on Sunday, with a large gathering from across Punjab paying tributes. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj urged the state govt to take meaningful steps to eliminate drugs and expose those patronising drug peddlers.Parvinder Singh was shot dead on the morning of Oct 13 while livestreaming on Facebook as he confronted medical store owner Ashwani Kumar. Angry over the confrontation, Kumar allegedly fired at him in full public view. The family had staged protests and agreed to a postmortem on Nov 4 after the state govt accepted its demands. Parvinder’s last rites were performed on Diwali, Nov 8.A large number of people gathered at the Sikh temporal seat to pay their respects. Gargajj, accompanied by Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Tek Singh, led the ardas for the departed soul.Addressing the gathering, Gargajj said Punjab, whose name derives from panj-aab (five waters), was now facing a sixth river — drug abuse. He said the large turnout showed that people wanted freedom from drugs, against which Parvinder had laid down his life. He prayed for a drug-free Punjab, saying the menace was destroying a generation.He also urged governments to move beyond empty claims and take meaningful steps to curb drugs, keeping ground realities in mind.Parvinder’s father, Bhim Singh, said the killing of his son could have been avoided if governments had been sincere about tackling the drug menace.Religious leaders and political functionaries attended the antim ardas in large numbers.
