Police Snatched Body: Opposition Targets Bhagwant Mann Over Drug Death In Punjab

The death of 35-year-old Daljit Singh in Punjab's Mansa district, allegedly due to drug overdose, triggered a confrontation between protesters and police on Monday, with opposition leaders launching a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann government over the handling of his body.

Family members and residents of Bhamme Kalan village, where Singh was from, were attempting to take his body to the site where protests against the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa were taking place. Police allegedly blocked their route by parking vehicles and trucks on the road.

The situation escalated at Ramditte Wala Chowk, where protesters accused the police of carrying out a lathicharge and taking Daljit Singh's body into custody. Several protesters were detained and the incident triggered a political row over the state government's handling of the drug crisis.

Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chaudhary said the police had taken action after some elements allegedly attempted to disturb the law-and-order situation.

"The body has been taken into police custody and sent out of station for a post-mortem examination," the SSP said.

Chaudhary clarified that the police would not perform Singh's last rites  and that further action would be taken only after obtaining the family's consent.

On the protest in Mansa, Chaudhary said the ongoing sit-in was peaceful and the police would not take any action at the protest site. 

'Shameful And Inhuman'

Congress leader Raja Brar described the alleged police action as "shameful and inhuman" and accused the Mansa police of taking Daljit Singh's body away from his grieving family.

Shameful and inhuman! Punjab's drug crisis is claiming young lives, and now @mansa_police has snatched the body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh from his grieving family and fled with it. @BhagwantMann, snatching a dead man's body and fleeing is a disgraceful assault on his dignity and a cruel violation of his family's grief. Instead of dismantling the drug mafia, your police are manhandling the dead. Punjab deserves answers for this shocking abuse of power!

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) October 27, 2026

"Punjab's drug crisis is claiming young lives, and now @mansa_police has snatched the body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh from his grieving family and fled with it," Brar said in a social media post.

Targeting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann months ahead of elections in the state, he alleged that taking away the body was an assault on the man's dignity and a violation of the family's grief.

"Instead of dismantling the drug mafia, your police are manhandling the dead. Punjab deserves answers for this shocking abuse of power," he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also targeted the chief minister. In a post on X in Punjabi, he asked Mann whether his conscience had completely died.

No one would have fathomed that we would see such visuals from Punjab! What is even happening on the streets here? Police under @AAPPunjab, Guru Dokhi @bhagwantmann and his master @ArvindKejriwal today crossed all limits by attacking our Dastaar and Kakaar! For a Gursikh, to remove his turban, and drag him by his hair, along the street is the biggest disrespect and torture. It is a sin that can never be undone! Shame on you Bhagwant Mann for meting out this treatment to Punjabis! And what is their crime? Why are you assaulting them like this? Just because they are seeking accountability and justice for thousands of drug overdose deaths? #PunjabDrugMenace #YudhPunjabVirudh

— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) October 27, 2026

"What greater injustice could there be than this?" Badal asked, accusing the government of causing further distress to a bereaved family by taking away the body. 

Referring to Punjabi traditions and respect for the dead, the SAD chief said that the dignity of a dead person was upheld even in the case of an enemy. 

Drug Addiction

According to the family, Singh was married and had two children. He was the sole breadwinner of the household and had reportedly been struggling with drug addiction for some time.

The family alleged that Daljit went to Mansa on Monday morning to buy drugs and that his body was later found in the fields near Ramanandi. The family has demanded the immediate arrest of those supplying drugs and said its protest would continue until action was taken. Relatives also questioned the state government's claims about its campaign against drugs, arguing that young people are continuing to lose their lives.