Punjab bandh LIVE: Complete shutdown in Amritsar, footfall dips at Golden Temple

Punjab bandh LIVE updates: Statewide shutdown over Mansa activist's death; security upped in Amritsar

Key Events

• 13 Mins agoWho was Parvinder Singh Jhota and what was his history with his murderer?
• 20 Mins agoAngry mob torches accused's shop, authorities bulldoze house
• 22 Mins agoHeavy security deployment in Amritsar
• 25 Mins agoPunjab bandh LIVE updates: Statewide shutdown over anti-drug activist's murder

Punjab bandh LIVE updates: A day after Parminder Singh Jhota's death in Mansa, angry people vandalised the building housing the killer's medical store on Wednesday

Punjab bandh LIVE updates: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday vowed the strictest punishment for those involved in the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, as outrage over the daylight killing spilled into a second day and tensions remained high in Mansa town. Jhota's father, Bhim Singh, launched a scathing attack on the administration and called for a Punjab Bandh on October 15. The demand received support from opposition parties, farmer unions and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)....Read More

Hours after Jhota was shot dead in Mansa, the police on Wednesday arrested the accused, a pharmacy owner, Ashwani Kumar, from Rajasthan even as anger against the killing spilled onto the streets, with mob setting the chemist’s shop ablaze and authorities razing a portion of his house.

Jhota’s father gave a Punjab bandh call on Thursday with political parties, including the Congress, Akali Dal, BJP, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, and farmers’ body Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmers’ unions and state government employees’ unions extending support to it. The family has also refused to cremate the body.

Follow all the updates here:

Oct 15, 2026, 10:30:32 IST

Punjab bandh LIVE: Known for raising his voice against drug abuse and the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot in broad daylight at a busy marketplace on Tuesday.

Ashwani Kumar, the medical store owner who allegedly opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him for selling addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan, police said.

Bathinda Range DIG Harjit Singh said an FIR had been registered against two people. "Police had arrested an associate who helped Kumar flee on Tuesday night," he added.

Kumar, was garlanded with shoes and paraded in the market by Jhota and his supporters in 2023, after a man was caught with banned capsules allegedly procured from the latter’s medical shop, HT earlier reported. Back then, an FIR was registered against Kumar, while Jhota was booked for assault and trespassing.

Oct 15, 2026, 10:23:51 IST

Punjab bandh LIVE: Hours after anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh, alias Jhota, was shot dead in Mansa, the police on Wednesday arrested the accused, a pharmacy owner, from Rajasthan even as anger against the killing spilled onto the streets, with mob setting the chemist’s shop ablaze and authorities razing a portion of his house.

Jhota’s father gave a Punjab bandh call on Thursday with political parties, including the Congress, Akali Dal, BJP, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, and farmers’ body Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmers’ unions and state government employees’ unions extending support to it. The family has also refused to cremate the body.

Known for raising his voice against drug abuse and illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot in broad daylight at a busy marketplace on Tuesday. Read full report here

Oct 15, 2026, 10:21:35 IST

Punjab bandh LIVE: Heavy security deployment in Amritsar city in light of a statewide shutdown call today over the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa.

Oct 15, 2026, 10:18:37 IST

Punjab bandh LIVE updates: Murdered Punjab anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s father gave a Punjab bandh call on Thursday with political parties, including the Congress, Akali Dal, BJP, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, and farmers’ body Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmers’ unions and state government employees’ unions extending support to it.

The family has also refused to cremate the body.

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