Bathinda: Activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) staged demonstrations outside police stations across 13 districts of Punjab on Wednesday to protest the Mansa police’s action of taking control of a casket carrying the body of 35-year-old Daljit Singh.

Shingara Singh Mann, the state secretary of the union and coordinator of the action, said the gherao would continue until 4pm.

The union is demanding that the police administration immediately hand over Daljit’s body to his family.

Daljit, a resident of Bhamme Kalan village in Mansa, was found dead in a field near Ramanandi village on Tuesday morning. While his family alleges he died of a drug overdose, Mansa police claimed he was murdered and that three suspects have been arrested under murder charges.

Daljit’s wife Paramjit Kaur alleged that police were pressuring the family to perform a post-mortem examination and cremation. “He died due to drugs because narcotics are freely available in our villages,” she said on Wednesday. “Instead of acting against drug peddlers, the police are attempting to portray this as a murder case to hide the easy availability of drugs.”

She said her husband had been addicted to drugs for several years.

Police took custody of the casket on Tuesday evening as the family, accompanied by supporters, marched toward Mansa town to join an ongoing protest seeking justice for slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh, alias Jhota.

Heavy police forces were deployed across key locations in Mansa district. Officials said the deployment was a precautionary measure as large crowds were anticipated following a call by acting Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj for special ardas (prayers) at gurdwaras across the state.

By Wednesday noon, former chief minister and Congress MP from Jalandhar Charanjit Singh Channi joined the protesters at Mansa’s Tinkoni locality, condemning the police’s forcible seizure of the body.