Chandigarh: What started with a villager climbing onto a rooftop and raising a black flag against Punjab’s drug problem has snowballed within days into a politically charged controversy, with the Bhagwant Mann government confronted with charges of police torture and a united Opposition as elections loom.
Mohanjeet Singh, a 37-year-old resident of the Sheron village in Sangrur district, came into the spotlight on 2 September when Chief Minister Mann held a ‘Lok Milni’ programme in the village that falls in his home district.
As Mann addressed the gathering, Mohanjeet climbed onto the rooftop of a nearby house, displayed a black flag and raised slogans questioning the government’s handling of the drug menace.
He was apparently shouting that heroin (chitta) was openly available in the village—allegedly being sold near the venue of the event even as the chief minister spoke.
Within minutes of the protest being captured in the CM’s live coverage, police personnel were seen climbing onto the roof, roughing him up and taking him away. He was released the next day.
After he was released, Mohanjeet got himself admitted to the Civil Hospital in Sangrur and told mediapersons that even before the chief minister’s visit, the police had come looking for him, as his stance against the availability of drugs was well known through his social media posts. He claimed the police “spoke extremely disrespectfully with my mother”.
“Then, when I started doing the protest peacefully and all alone, I was immediately forced to get down and taken to a house in the village where I was beaten up. My hair and beard were pulled, and I was slapped a thousand times by the police,” he said about what happened on the day of the CM’s event, showing the tuft of hair from his beard.
Also read: Punjab MLAs passed anti-sacrilege law without reading it. It’s a democratic failing
‘Cuts inflicted on thigh, salt put onto them’
Mohanjeet claimed that after bringing him down from the rooftop, police took him to the local police station and subjected him to more beatings and electric shocks. “My clothes were removed, and I was given electric shocks. Then a blade was used to inflict cuts on my thighs at various places. Then salt was put on them,” he said.
All of this torture was being shown to police higher-ups by a policeman through a video call, he claimed.
❌❌ NATIONAL SHAME ❌❌
This is what @AAPPunjab did to a Punjabi Sikh boy who dared to speak the truth about the drug menace in Punjab.
He is the same boy who protested from atop a roof from village Shero in Sunam while a fake PR event of the CM was happening.
Guru Dokhi… pic.twitter.com/L6MV2wxaeK
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 4, 2026
When asked about the incident, state AAP chief and Cabinet minister Aman Arora told a press conference Friday that what happened was unfortunate and could have been avoided.
“I have talked to the policemen concerned, and they have sworn by their kids that they have not tortured this person. The injuries that are being talked about could have been self-inflicted because he had already gone home from police custody and returned to admit himself in the hospital. Whatever is the truth will be clear from the medical report,” said Arora.
Top political leaders have since made a beeline for the Sangrur Civil Hospital where Mohanjeet is recuperating.
“Elsewhere in the country, the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Maan have been supporting protesters against the government. They have been encouraging people to raise their voice against the NDA government. But in Punjab, their sense of morality gets completely reversed,” said Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal, who visited Mohanjeet on Friday.
ਗੁਰੂ ਦੋਖੀ ਦੇ ਇਸ਼ਾਰੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਦੇ ਤਸ਼ੱਦਦ ਦਾ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ ਹੋਏ ਸਿੱਖ ਨੌਜਵਾਨ ਮੋਹਨਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਪਿੰਡ ਸ਼ੇਰੋਂ (ਸੁਨਾਮ) ਦਾ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਵਿਖੇ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਹਾਲ ਜਾਣਿਆ। ਮੋਹਨਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ 'ਤੇ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਤਸ਼ੱਦਦ ਝਾੜੂ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦੀ ਤਾਨਾਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਸਿਖ਼ਰ ਹੈ। ਇੱਕ ਸਿੱਖ ਦੀ ਦਸਤਾਰ 'ਤੇ ਹਮਲਾ ਕਰਨਾ, ਉਸਦੇ ਕੇਸਾਂ ਦੀ ਬੇਅਦਬੀ ਕਰਨਾ ਅਤੇ… pic.twitter.com/sQmAZ2u9Kr
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 4, 2026
State Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring visited Mohanjeet on Saturday and made him speak to senior party leader Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi assured Mohanjeet that his party will stand by him.
नशे के मुद्दे पर @BhagwantMann को घेरने और काला झंडा दिखाने वाले मोहनजीत शेरों से श्री @RahulGandhi जी ने फोन पर बात कर उनका हालचाल जाना और हौसला बढ़ाया।@PunjabPoliceInd तशद्दुद के बावजूद मोहनजीत की आवाज़ नहीं दब सकी। राहुल गांधी जी ने साफ कहा – तानाशाही के खिलाफ उठने वाली हर… https://t.co/PV7avHZN1u
— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) September 5, 2026
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also visited Mohanjeet. “Since the entire incident happened right under the nose of the chief minister, he is equally, if not more, responsible for what happened to Mohanjeet. The police were doing what they were told to do, and it is not only they who will face the music but Mann will also have to be held accountable,” said Bajwa.
I met Mohanjit Singh today and listened to the ordeal he has gone through. What has happened to him is deeply disturbing and a shameful reminder of how easily basic human rights can be trampled upon under the @AAPPunjab.
Along with my fellow Congressman, @VijayIndrSingla, I have… pic.twitter.com/zYCKq8s8bM
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) September 4, 2026
What police say
The police version, however, is sharply different. Faced with severe criticism, the Sangrur police said Mohanjeet was taken into preventive custody because his actions “could have led to infighting among the villagers”.
SSP Sangrur Ravjot Kaur Grewal addressed the issue at a press conference Friday. She said Mohanjeet has a long criminal record and at least eight FIRs were registered against him.
“On an earlier occasion, there had been a law and order problem because of his differences with others in the village. Taking routine action against him, we removed him from the rooftop and took him to the police station, taking preventive action against him,” she said.
She added that the next day the police got the medical done on Mohanjit and no injuries were reported on his body. She also said a dope test was conducted and he was found to be under the influence of drugs.
She said another dope test was conducted on his family and lawyer’s request, and that also came out to be positive. “We presented him before the SDM and on the assurance given by the villagers, we released him in the afternoon,” said Grewal.
The SSP said that hours after the police had released him, Mohanjit went to the civil hospital in Sangrur with his lawyer and got himself admitted. A medico-legal report was sought, which showed that he was injured at 10 places.
“Since there is a discrepancy between what the police version is and what his version is, the matter has been handed over to the SP headquarters for investigation,” said Grewal.
The PTI reported Saturday that the government had transferred the DSP who had picked up Monhajeet. Three other policemen were also transferred out of the district amid mounting pressure.
STORY | Punjab custodial torture row: DSP transferred, three others shifted to police lines in Sangrur
Amid mounting criticism from the opposition over the alleged custodial torture of a Sikh youth in Sangrur, the Punjab Police on Saturday transferred a deputy superintendent of… pic.twitter.com/8gjHVgHAud
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 5, 2026
The religious angle
The incident has also acquired a religious dimension because Mohanjeet is an ‘Amritdhari Sikh’ (baptised) and has alleged that his keshhair and kakaars (articles of Sikh faith) were disrespected during his detention.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has condemned the alleged mistreatment and sent a delegation to meet him. Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargajj has said that displaying a black flag is a legitimate form of democratic protest.
Speaking to the media at Gurdwara Sri Bhattha Sahib in Ropar on Friday during the start of the Miri-Piri Khalsa March, Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj said the march had so far highlighted the serious problem of drug abuse in Punjab.
He said that 10 to 15 youths in every village had fallen victim to drugs and asserted that the sale of “chitta” (heroin/synthetic drugs) must be stopped completely in Punjab, alleging that it was being sold under the government’s watch.
“I have spoken to the Sangrur district superintendent of police and asked that the DSP and the SHO responsible for torturing the Sikh youth and desecrating his kakaars be immediately dismissed and legal action initiated against them,” said Gargajj.
Gargajj said if such treatment was meted out to Sikhs by the government in Punjab itself, it raised questions about what could be expected elsewhere in the world.
Warring and Badal have sought intervention by the National Human Rights Commission. Warring has also sought preservation and examination of CCTV footage, medical and medico-legal records, the dope-test report, police records and other electronic evidence.
The BJP has also condemned the alleged police action, with Punjab party president Kewal Singh Dhillon speaking to Mohanjeet and demanding an impartial investigation.
BJP leaders have sought to connect the incident directly to the credibility of Mann’s much-publicised ‘War Against Drugs’, arguing that a young Sikh who raises the drug question has allegedly ended up being targeted by the very state machinery that claims to be fighting drugs.
BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh has separately approached the National Human Rights Commission, seeking intervention and an independent fact-finding exercise.
Chugh wrote on X on Saturday that after his letter, the NHRC issued notices to the state chief secretary, the DGP, and the Sangrur district magistrate as well as the superintendent of police, asking them to take action in the matter and report to the commission within 15 days.
The NHRC taking cognizance of my complaint over the alleged custodial torture of Sardar Mohanjeet Singh is a serious development and a strong indictment of the Mann government’s handling of human rights in Punjab.
The Commission has ordered an immediate inquiry, medico-legal… pic.twitter.com/mXmuJe3ZE5
— Tarun Chugh (@tarunchughbjp) September 5, 2026
‘Politically potent’
According to experts, the convergence of the opposition parties over the incident is significant because Punjab politics is entering the run-up to the 2027 Assembly elections.
“The drug issue is potentially one of the most politically potent subjects available to the Opposition. The AAP government came to power in 2022 after campaigning heavily on issues of corruption, governance and the failures of the traditional political establishment. Its subsequent ‘yudh nashean virudh’ has been presented as one of its major governance campaigns,” said Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur of the Department of Political Science, DAV College Sector 10, Chandigarh.
“Mohanjeet’s protest, therefore, creates an awkward political equation: a citizen protesting against drugs at a chief minister’s public programme is now at the centre of allegations that he was punished by the State for raising precisely that issue. Whether or not the allegations of torture ultimately stand up to investigation, the incident has dented the CM’s image,” she said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also read: Mask or masquerade: Oppn wants forensic test of CM Mann’s latest ‘proof’ against sacrilege charge