Mansa: The first meeting between Parvinder Singh Jhotta’s family and a three-member IAS panel constituted by the Punjab government over the anti-drug activist’s murder ended without a breakthrough on Monday, with the family and members of the action committee refusing to end their protest or conduct the cremation until their demands are addressed.
Jhotta’s father, Bhim Singh, his wife, Manpreet Kaur, and action committee members attended the meeting. Afterward, committee members said they could not reach an agreement with the state government officials. Jhotta’s cremation, which has remained pending for nearly a week, will not take place until there is consensus on the demands, they said.
The committee has submitted a memorandum to the government and reiterated that the protest will continue until its demands are met.
The meeting was attended by IAS officers Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar and Apneet Riyat, Mansa deputy commissioner Navjot Kaur, DIG Harjit Singh, Mansa SSP Vaibhav Chaudhary and other officials.
The family said Union home minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit their home on Tuesday to offer condolences. They plan to urge him to announce a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Jhotta’s killing, saying an impartial investigation is needed to establish the motive and identify everyone involved.
Action committee members said they would not agree to the cremation until their demands were addressed and an agreement was reached with the authorities.
