Family members and supporters of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota say they will refuse to consent to an autopsy on his body until all of their demands are met by the state government, entering the 10th day of demonstrations over his killing.

Speaking Thursday evening following a strategy meeting, Jhota’s wife, Manpreet Kaur, along with protest leader Bhim Singh, confirmed that the family will withhold autopsy permission until authorities address their grievances. Jhota’s body remains in the mortuary at Civil Hospital in Mansa, where protests have centered alongside a secondary demonstration near the deputy commissioner’s residence.

The family and an action committee coordinating the protests boycotted a scheduled third round of talks with a state government panel Thursday morning after previous negotiations ended in a deadlock. Protest leaders stated that any future decisions regarding the autopsy or demonstrations will be made collectively with supporters and communicated directly by the action committee.

The protest committee's demands include the resignations of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the state's director general of police, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into an alleged nexus between drug traffickers, police officials, and politicians, and an autopsy conducted by a senior medical panel from PGIMER Chandigarh.

Demonstrators are also calling for the dismissal of several local police officials and a drug inspector—three of whom have already been suspended—along with the construction of a trauma center in Jhota's memory in his native village of Khyala Kalan. Additionally, the family is seeking fast-track prosecution for the accused, government-funded medical treatment for four individuals injured during the incident, and immediate compensation of 2 million rupees ($32,000 CAD) for each injured victim.