Shah Meets Families as Punjab Transfers Jhota Case to CBI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah met families of three people who died in incidents linked by relatives or public accounts to Punjab’s drug trade on October 20, as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the state would transfer the investigation into Parvinder Singh Jhota’s killing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Shah’s daylong visit included meetings in Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa with the families of Jhota, Gulzar Singh and Bikramjit Singh. Shah expressed condolences and told the families they would receive justice, according to accounts of the meetings. He told Jhota’s family that a CBI team would reach Mansa by Wednesday noon, October 21, to take charge of the case. Jhota, 42, was shot dead on October 13 inside a medical store in Mansa. He had campaigned against the alleged illegal sale of addictive medicines and had posted videos about shops he believed were selling them. His father, Bhim Singh, had sought a CBI investigation. The family had not cremated Jhota and had rejected compensation and employment offers while seeking a thorough probe, according to one account. Police arrested several people in connection with the killing, including the alleged...