Jalandhar: Barely a fortnight after anti-drugs activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s murder, another ‘suspected’ case of a youth’s death following ‘chitta (a highly refined, synthetic, or adulterated form of heroin)’ overdose surfaced in Mansa district on Tuesday (October 27) triggering widespread protests with the police forcibly taking the body in their possession.While the police have termed the death of the youth as a case of murder, the family has been vehemently stating that their son died of drug overdose.Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vaibhav Chaudhary told the media that they have registered a case under Section 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and detained three people while further investigation was on.On Wednesday (October 28), farmer unions led by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) (BKU (Ekta Ugrahan)), labour organisations, youths and student bodies laid siege to 48 police stations in Mansa demanding justice in the youth’s death and that of anti-drugs activist Parvinder Singh Jhota.The deceased youth has been identified as Daljit Singh (35), a resident of Bhamme Kalan village of Mansa district, who was found dead on Rama Mandi village road on Tuesday.A marginal farmer, Daljit’s death due to drug overdose led to protests by his family and villagers who initially staged a dharna on the Mansa-Sirsa Road by demanding justice and arrest of drug paddlers. Later, they decided to take the body of the deceased to Shaheed Bhai Parvinder Singh Jhota Insaaf Morcha, where his family has been sitting on a dharna for the past 15 days.However, seeing the procession of over 500 villagers heading to Jhota insaf morcha, police reached the spot and stopped the protesters at Ramdittewala chowk in Mansa.This led to a clash between the police and the villagers during which the police forcibly snatched the body of the deceased youth and took it in their possession.Screengrabs from the viral video showing Punjab Police taking the deceased’s body away from the protesters.Multiple videos of police dragging and detaining Sikh men, youths and Nihang leaders from the dharna with their turbans removed went viral on social media further infuriating people. In the videos, police personnel were seen forcibly picking protesters and pushing them in police vehicles.“We noticed men in civil clothes dragging the protestors. The AAP [Aam Aadmi Party] government has reduced Punjab to a police state. Hardly a day goes by when we do not protest or mourn the death of a youth in the region. Bhagwant Mann has failed as a chief minister. He has failed Punjabis too,” said a local youth who witnessed the clash.The police also detained many youths including gangster- turned-social activist Lakha Sidhana, Bhana Sidhu, Mohanjeet Singh Sheoran and Punjab Students Union (PSU) leader Arvinder Kaur Azad. While Bhana Sidhu reportedly managed to flee the police custody as he released a video late on Tuesday night, the whereabouts of other detainees were still unknown.Notably, Jhota was shot dead by Ashwani Kumar, a chemist shop owner on October 13 in Mansa. Jhota’s case is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Youth’s death, a case of misinformation not of drug overdose: SSP MansaAddressing the media, Mansa SSP Chaudhary said on Tuesday they got the information that a body was found near a road in Mansa. “Someone spread misinformation that the youth died because of drug overdose. However, the fact is that some individuals murdered the youth and dumped his body near the village. We have detained three persons and lodged a case under 302 and 307 IPC,” he said.The SSP added that some anti-social elements got in touch with the family and provoked them, triggering protests. “I have spoken to the family of the deceased youth, and they are satisfied with our investigation,” he mentioned.Also read: Bhagwant Mann’s Posters, Amit Shah’s Visit Do Little to Quell Anger Over Punjab Anti-Drugs Activist’s MurderOn being asked about the police action against the protesters and forcibly taking the body in their possession, Chaudhary claimed that they used mild force to contain the protest. “Peaceful protest is a democratic right of every individual but if someone tries to break law and order, action will be taken,” he said. To a repeated query on where the body was kept, the SSP said, “The body has been kept out of Mansa district. The exact location will be revealed later.” However, reports indicate that body of the deceased youth has been shifted to AIIMS, Bhatinda. My husband died of drugs: Deceased youth’s wifeIn a video shared by a Punjabi YouTube channel Lok Awaz TV, Daljit’s wife said, “My husband used to take drugs, but he had stopped consuming it some 20-25 days ago. Today morning (Tuesday), he received a call on his mobile phone and went out. After around one and a half hours, my husband called up and just asked if it was me and ended the call. Later, we received information that his body was found on the outskirts of the village near a road.”Daljit’s wife also refuted Mansa SSP Chaudhary’s statement that the family was satisfied with the police investigation and instead said, “We have no idea where the police have taken the body and my father-in-law. They have forcibly taken my father-in-law along and asked him to get the postmortem done and sign some documents.”BKU leaders protests in Mansa seeking justiceFollowing Tuesday’s incident of snatching the youth’s body and police action on protesters, BKU leader Jhanda Singh Jethuke said that given the way the AAP government was functioning in the state, it is important that everybody joins the protest call given for Wednesday.In a video message, the BKU leader said that if the government thinks that they can forcibly lift Jhota’s dharna, then they are mistaken. “We want to warn the AAP government that they keep their hands off Jhota’s dharna, else they should get ready for severe protests,” Jethuke said.Also read: An Anti-Drugs Activist’s Murder in Broad Daylight Has Serious Political ImplicationsFurther, the farmer union leader said that earlier the police performed the cremation of Gulzar Singh, a daily wager from Toor Banjara village in Sangrur district, who had died by suicide after he raised voice against his son’s drug addiction in front of Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema. “The police dragged Gulzar’s parents and later performed his cremation in some other village. Shockingly, this has become a new normal under the AAP government,” he said.“Now, they took the body of Daljit Singh in their possession and detained many others during the protest. We are warning the AAP government to hand over the body to his family, as the right to perform the cremation was that of the family and not of police,” Jethuke said, adding that the AAP government will pay a heavy price for such actions.Earlier, BKU Krantikari president Surjeet Singh Phul also said that the Bhagwant Mann government wants to end Jhota insaf morcha. “Chief minister Bhagwant Mann is alarmed over the continuing protest of his government and wants to end it by performing the cremation of Parvinder Singh Jhota. The AAP government is making excuses on one ground or the other to convince Jhota’s family, but they have failed,” he said.Phul added that after Jhota’s killing, the issue of drugs has overpowered Punjab politics, and it has become a headache for the AAP government. “In Daljit Singh’s death, it is evident that he died of drug overdose, but the government is trying to control the protest by terming it a criminal case. The Punjab government should understand that such tactics will not deter people from seeking justice and raising voice against the high handedness of police,” he said.‘The AAP government is trying to do damage control, but things have gone out of hand now’: Social activist Manik GoyalSpeaking to The Wire, social activist and committee member who has been leading Jhota insaf morcha, Manik Goyal said that chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government and the police were trying to do damage control, but things have gone out of hand now. “It is a clear case of drug overdose. Who knows better than the family of the deceased youth? His family has revealed that Daljit was a drug addict and that he died of ‘chitta’ overdose,” he said.Goyal said the way the police snatched the body of the deceased from his family and harassed them by depriving them of their right to mourn and seek justice, speaks volumes about the AAP government’s highhandedness. He questioned, “How can police take the body of a deceased out of its jurisdiction? Why didn’t they keep the body in the Civil Hospital, Mansa?”Goyal shared that the police not just detained protesters from Tuesday’s protest over Daljit’s death but also from Jhota insaf morcha. “By 7 pm on Tuesday, the police had deployed water cannons, tear gas vehicles, women police and a host of other security agencies around Parvinder Singh Jhota’s morcha. The situation remained tense till around 9 pm and turned normal late at night,” he said.Earlier while addressing the insaf morcha, he warned the Punjab government and the Punjab director general of police (DGP) that if the detained people were not released, they would face massive protests. “If any untoward incident took place, then your government will be responsible for next action,” he warned.‘AAP government’s draconian actions will cost them dear’: Pendu Mazdoor UnionJalandhar-based Pendu Mazdoor Union, a body of labourers and workers in a statement, termed the police action under the AAP government as draconian and the last nail in the coffin.Pendu Mazdoor Union’s state president Tarsem Peter condemned the Punjab Police for forcibly snatching Daljit’s body, arresting PSU leader Azad and others for leading the Jhota insaf morcha and clashing with protesters.The PMU leader said that the AAP government had reduced Punjab to a police state and was acting on the orders of the Union government and agencies through a conspiracy. “The agenda is to wipe out Punjab and spread anarchy,” he said.Peter asserted that had the police shown strictness in controlling drugs like the way they acted against the protesters, many youths would not have died of drugs. Their mothers would not have been mourning the deaths of their young sons, he said.