Jalandhar: Amidst slogans of ‘Punjab Sarkar murdabaad’ and ‘Mansa parshashan murdabaad’ and ’Jhote bai teri soch te, pehra dayange thok ke’ – criticising the Punjab government, Mansa administration and remembering his legacy – anti-drugs activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s cremation was held today, November 8.Jhota was cremated at Chakerian Road in Mansa district almost after a month since his killing – an event which saw unprecedented protests.He was shot dead by chemist shop owner Ashwani Kumar on October 13, when he had reached his shop to confront him over allegations charges of the illegal selling of prescription drugs. Jhota was livestreaming the video on Facebook, which was his signature style whenever he undertook any such operation, when he was shot dead by the accused.Bhim Singh, Jhota’s father who aimed to raise awareness on drugs by cremating his son on Diwali, said, “The Bhagwant Mann government’s reign has end. Go and write ‘baiman CM’ [dishonest] wherever ‘imandar CM’ [honest] is written.”In response to a demand by Jhota’s family’s, his postmortem was conducted at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh on November 7. A CBI probe is underway in Jhota’s case. Union home minister Amit Shah was among those who reached Mansa to assure justice to his family.Also read: An Anti-Drugs Activist’s Murder in Broad Daylight Has Serious Political ImplicationsA cremation and a crowdJhota’s cavalcade started from Chandigarh at 5 am on November 8. Jhota’s father had gone to PGI Chandigarh for the postmortem, which was delayed by a day, as the body had been in the freezer for a while and was not at a suitable temperature for the doctors to perform the procedure. Jhota’s wife, children and mother had stayed back in Mansa.The cavalcade had Punjab Police and officials of the CBI. Jhota’s supporters lined the roads at Zirakpur, Patiala, Bhawanigarh, Sunam, Cheema, and Bhikhi, up till Mansa to pay their respects to the activist.People showered his body with flower petals while his father was honoured with robes by various Sikh organisations, farmer unions, workers bodies, youth groups and individuals. Multiple videos of people paying respects to Jhota went viral on social media.After reaching Mansa, Jhota’s body was taken to his house, where his family performed the mandatory last rituals. He was taken in a tractor trolley, which was garlanded and adorned with his posters. A huge crowd followed.During the cremation, Jhota’s children raised slogans for their deceased father. His younger son, held by relatives, held a placard in his hand, bearing the slogan ‘Parvinder Jhota amar rahe (long live Parvinder Jhota).’Talking to the media, an emotional Bhim Singh, who was on indefinite hunger strike from November 5 demanding the transfer of Mansa SSP Vaibhav Chaudhary said, “Today after a month, 28 [it is actually 26] days have passed, when my son has come home. He will not come again. This dirty Punjab government and the police killed my son by colluding with drug smugglers in a conspiracy.”“The real political killers, the killers in the form of police, are still roaming out. Till the time the political killers are put behind bars, we will not be satisfied. I want to appeal to Punjab’s youth to be aware of these killers who are hunting our youths. We demand from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union home minister Amit Shah that the transfer of the Mansa SSP be done,” Bhim Singh said.Jhota’s friend, Mohanjeet Singh Sheroan, who had earlier been arrested by the police following the death of another youth in Mansa because of drug addiction asked people to observe a ‘Black Diwali’.“He [Jhota] sacrificed himself for the sake of people, youth and their families. Festivals will come and go but we will never get to see my dear friend Parvinder Singh Jhota again,” he said, adding that the Aam Aadmi Party is responsible for his death.Mohanjeet’s arrest had come following the death of Mansa-based youth Daljit Singh. Daljit was cremated on November 5, following high court orders. Police have been claiming that Daljit died under mysterious circumstances and have registered a case of murder. His family has been stating that he died of drug addiction.Earlier on November 7, the wrestler who goes by the name ‘The Great Khali,’ whose original name is Dalip Singh Rana also reached Mansa to express condolences to Jhota’s family. He said, “There is no denying the fact that the scourge of drugs has increased in Punjab. We cannot deny this fact. Everybody should come together and speak against drug addiction, drug peddlers and those who are consuming drugs.”Never demanded any compensation from Punjab government: Jhota’s motherOn November 5, a group of ministers and members of the action committee had reached a consensus that they would not gherao the residence of CM Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur. The Punjab government has offered Rs 2 crore compensation and a government job to Jhota’s wife. Meanwhile, a section of people have started trolling Jhota’s family for accepting the AAP government’s offer.Irked by the people’s reaction, Jhota’s mother Amarjeet Kaur said: “We never demanded any government job or financial compensation following his killing. Our only demand was an end to the drug menace in Punjab, so that no more youths lose their lives.”“We have lost a son worth crores. What would we do with this government job and money offered by the Punjab government? We are hardworking people and have always earned a living through honest means,” she added.His wife Manpreet Kaur, while addressing the gathering at Mansa, also took on the people trolling them. “We all are standing here. Come and shoot us with a 12-bore pistol [if you see us accepting the offer]. Hopefully that will satisfy you all,” she said.