Bathinda, Oct. 16 -- Giving in to demands from protesters seeking justice for slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, the Mansa district administration on Thursday suspended City-2 station house officer (SHO) inspector Beant Kaur. Mansa senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vaibhav Chaudhary said Beant Kaur was suspended on administrative grounds following allegations of police negligence. Chaudhary said the investigation into the shooting confirmed that the pharmacy where Jhota was killed held a licence registered under Neelam Rani, the wife of accused Ashwani Kumar. "Neelam and two others, Laadi and Vipin Kumar Garg, have been arrested for their roles in the crime," the SSP said. Kumar, who fled Mansa after Tuesday's shooting, was arrested the next morning in Salasar, Rajasthan. Laadi and Vipin are accused of helping Kumar flee Mansa, while Neelam is facing charges of criminal conspiracy. Bathinda range deputy inspector general (DIG) Harjeet Singh said the licence for the weapon used to kill Jhota and injure four others was issued in Ashwani's name. "The weapon has been recovered and we are investigating to confirm if the licence was issued as per rules. Due legal action will be initiated against officials concerned if any violation is detected," said the DIG. A case was registered at the City-2 police station under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 103 (1) (murder), 109 (attempt to murder), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy), and 3 (5) (common intention), along with Arms Act provisions, following a complaint filed by the victim's father, Bhim Singh. Escalating their agitation on Thursday, Jhota's family demanded the resignation of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav for failing to curb the state's drug trade. Bhim Singh demanded the dismissal and booking of the Mansa SSP, DSP, district drug inspector and the SHO, while insisting that his son's post-mortem examination be conducted by a medical board at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. The aggrieved family, which is demanding an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has refused to cremate the body, which is kept in the Mansa civil hospital's mortuary. Minutes before opening fire at Jhota, the accused, Ashwani Kumar, had called up his uncle and son, police probe has revealed. Briefing the media on Friday evening, Mansa SSP Vaibhav Chaudhary said Call Detail Records (CDR) data showed the accused made four calls to his son and another to his uncle. Kumar, who was captured in the videos livestreamed on Jhota's Facebook page, was seen with a phone to his ear and a pistol in hand. SSP said after fatally shooting Jhota and injuring four others, Kumar fled from Mansa. "Investigation shows that after committing the crime, Kumar switched off his phone and headed towards Rajasthan by public transport. His associates Vipin Kumar Garg and Laadi helped him flee. Kumar's wife Neelam Rani was aware of the entire development but did not alert the police," he said. SSP said it was already in the public domain that Kumar and the deceased had a confrontation in 2023 that ended with both filing complaints against each other. "Ashwani has seven criminal cases against him. We are investigating his alleged modus operandi of procuring prescription drugs abused by addicts. Based on human and electronic intelligence, police arrested the main accused within 12 hours of the crime," said the SSP. He said City-2 SHO Beant Kaur had been suspended and a departmental probe initiated for dereliction of duty....