‘Police snatched body’: Opposition slams Bhagwant Mann over drug death in Punjab

New Delhi: The death of a 35-year-old man, allegedly due to a drug overdose, has sparked a political row in Punjab’s Mansa district. Daljit Singh’s family and villagers were protesting on Monday when police allegedly stopped them from taking his body to a protest site and took it into custody.

Singh belonged to Bhamme Kalan village and was reportedly struggling with drug addiction. His family wanted to take his body to the site of a protest against the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa.

The situation escalated at Ramditte Wala Chowk where protesters accused the police of lathicharge and detaining several people. The incident drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who questioned the Bhagwant Mann government’s efforts to tackle drug abuse in the state.

Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chaudhary said the police acted after some people allegedly tried to disturb law and order.

“The body has been taken into police custody and sent out of station for a post-mortem examination,” Chaudhary said. He added that the police would not perform the last rites and that further action would be taken only after obtaining the family’s consent. He also said the ongoing sit-in was peaceful and no action would be taken at the protest site.

Congress, SAD attack Bhagwant Mann government

Congress leader Raja Brar called the alleged police action “shameful and inhuman”. In a post on social media, he accused the Mansa police of taking Daljit Singh’s body away from his grieving family.

Shameful and inhuman!

Punjab’s drug crisis is claiming young lives, and now @mansa_police has snatched the body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh from his grieving family and fled with it.

@BhagwantMann, snatching a dead man’s body and fleeing is a disgraceful assault on his dignity and a cruel violation of his family’s grief. Instead of dismantling the drug mafia, your police are manhandling the dead. Punjab deserves answers for this shocking abuse of power!

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) October 27, 2026

Brar said the state was losing young people to drugs and accused the government of failing to dismantle the drug mafia. He also questioned the handling of the case, saying the family deserved answers.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In a post on X in Punjabi, Badal asked whether the chief minister’s conscience had completely died. He said taking away the body had added to the family’s distress and questioned the government’s conduct.

Family demands action against drug suppliers

According to the family, Daljit Singh was married and had two children. He was the sole breadwinner and had reportedly been battling drug addiction for some time.

The family alleged that he went to Mansa on Monday morning to buy drugs and that his body was later found in fields near Ramanandi. Relatives have demanded the immediate arrest of those supplying drugs and said their protest would continue until action is taken.

The incident has renewed questions over Punjab’s campaign against drugs, with the family alleging that young people continue to lose their lives despite the government’s claims of action.