Escalating tensions swept through this southern Punjab town on Wednesday after an angry crowd bulldozed and set fire to a medical store owned by a chemist accused of murdering a prominent local anti-drug activist.

The violence follows Tuesday’s shooting death of 45-year-old Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot during a heated, livestreamed confrontation with chemist Ashwani Kumar over the alleged illegal sale of pharmaceutical drugs.

According to local reports, demonstrator youths commandeered an excavator to dismantle Kumar’s shop before pouring fuel on the debris and setting it ablaze, overwhelming police personnel stationed nearby. Shortly after, state authorities deployed heavy machinery to demolish portions of Kumar’s residential property, citing ongoing anti-narcotics enforcement protocols against suspected drug traffickers.

Protesters in Mansa have launched an indefinite sit-in demanding justice for Jhota. Demonstrators formed a action committee to represent their demands in talks with district administrative officials as heavy security remains deployed across the region.

Many organisations and political parties have also given a call for Punjab band (jam) on October 15. Meanwhile, two people were arrested by Mansa police in this connection.