Mansa: The Punjab government has moved to initiate formal talks with the action committee leading the protest over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhotta, appointing a three-member team of women IAS officers to engage with the protesters in Mansa.
The first round of discussions between the government and the committee is expected to take place on Monday evening, nearly a week after the protest began.
The team comprises 2007-batch IAS officer Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, 2011-batch officer Apneet Riyat and Mansa deputy commissioner Navjot Kaur. Brar currently serves as commissioner of the Faridkot division, while Riyat previously served as Mansa deputy commissioner during the Congress government.
Brar and Riyat arrived in Mansa on Sunday night. The government has informally constituted the panel to establish communication with the action committee after earlier efforts by local police officials failed to make progress. The committee had refused to hold talks with the police.
The protesters are demanding the resignations of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav. The committee has also maintained that Jhotta’s body will neither undergo a post-mortem examination nor be cremated until justice is delivered.
Jhotta was allegedly shot dead by medical store owner Ashwini Kumar on October 13. The action committee, comprising representatives of public organisations, has been leading the protest in Mansa since the killing.
Meanwhile, the committee has called for letters of condemnation to be handed to Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and ministers on Monday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to visit Punjab on Tuesday, October 20, to meet Jhotta’s family, although the visit had not been officially confirmed in the earlier report.
