Bathinda/Patiala/Amritsar/Jalandhar/Sangrur: Commercial centres and private schools came to a near-total standstill across several districts in Punjab on Thursday following a statewide shutdown call over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa.
The Punjab bandh call by Jhota’s father Bhim Singh and a newly formed joint action committee, drew backing from major political parties, including the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP, and Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, along with state employee unions and major farmer organisations such as the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC).
The impact was felt across the Malwa region. Mansa, Barnala, and Sangrur districts witnessed total market shutdowns, while educational institutions remained closed. Heavy police deployment seen at key intersections as farmers assembled along national highways.
In Patiala, protesters blocked the Patiala-Sirhind road and the Bathinda-Chandigarh national highway near the Dhareri Jattan toll plaza, while Punjabi University students locked the campus main gates.
In Doaba, a complete shutdown was observed in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, and Kapurthala. Private schools and colleges remained shut, while government schools reported thin attendance. Protesters blocked the Amritsar-New Delhi highway at Paragpur and several stretches in Hoshiarpur, disrupting travel for commuters, including pilgrims heading to Himachal Pradesh’s Chintpurni temple. Police subsequently detained protesters in Jalandhar to clear traffic on the national highway.
In the Majha region, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts experienced near-total commercial disruption. Major markets, including Hall Bazaar, Katra Jaimal Singh, and Lawrence Road wore a deserted look, while the pilgrim footfall at the Golden Temple also dipped.
Protesters gathered at Bhandari Bridge to halt city transport, while members of Akali Dal Waris Punjab De and Panthic groups staged marches through the city centre.
Demonstrators led by KMSC leader Sarwan Singh Pandher burned an effigy of chief minister Bhagwant Mann at the Golden Gate in Amritsar, charging the administration with a collapse of law and order and an inability to rein in drug trafficking
The protest was against the brazen killing of the Jhota in a busy Mansa market while he was broadcasting a Facebook Live stream, during which he was confronting a local chemist shop owner for allegedly selling addictive drugs to an elderly man. The accused, medical store owner Ashwani Kumar, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan on Wednesday morning.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has reiterated his government’s zero-tolerance policy against drug peddling, promising the strictest possible punishment for the accused and warning that conspirators would not be spared while appealing to the public for calm.