Activist Gurjeet Khalsa brought down from BSNL tower in Patiala after 18 months; says ‘we have won’
Samana (Patiala) (PTI): Activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who had been sitting atop a 400-foot BSNL tower for about 560 days demanding stricter laws against sacrilege incidents in Punjab, was finally brought down on Friday morning, officials said.
The development brought to an end a dramatic protest that began when Khalsa (43) climbed atop the tower in Samana near Patiala on October 12, 2024, demanding stringent punishment for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.
He was brought down by a team comprising firemen, police and civil officials with the help of a specialised crane-lift, a fire official from Patiala said.
After he descended amid 'Sikh Jaikara’ and 'Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’ chants, Khalsa was taken to a hospital in an ambulance for a medical checkup, with his supporters showering flower petals on him.
“We have won,” the activist from Kheri Nagaian village in Patiala district said as he stepped onto the ground.
“By the Guru's grace, I have come down safely after 18 months and 12 days. I thank the Punjab government,” Khalsa said, expressing his gratitude to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan for enacting an anti-sacrilege law.
Khalsa also thanked the local administration for bringing him down safely.
The activist decided to end his protest after the Punjab government recently notified the anti-sacrilege law – the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026 – which proposes stricter punishment, including life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 25 lakh, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
The protest drew attention across Punjab due to its unique nature and the extreme conditions endured by Khalsa, who remained atop the tower through harsh winter and scorching summer months.
He was sent essential supplies via ropes.
He stayed in a makeshift tarpaulin shelter atop the tower, using a polythene bag to relieve himself.
Harinderpal Singh, an assistant fire officer in Patiala, said, “We conducted the operation with the help of the district administration and police. Firemen, a sub-officer and two station officers were involved in it.
“As we had to reach a considerable height to bring him down, we used chains and links, a safety belt and a turntable ladder.”
As Khalsa was brought down using a safety belt, a fireman was stationed below to ensure his safety.
“First, he was brought down to a platform built above the ground level, after which we used the turntable ladder to get him down,” the fire officer said.
A farmer by profession, Khalsa's core demand was the introduction of stricter legal provisions against the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, proposes stricter punishments to deter incidents of 'beadbi' (sacrilege) and uphold the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib.
According to the law, any person who commits sacrilege shall get a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment, extendable to up to 20 years, along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Any person who, in a criminal conspiracy, commits sacrilege with the intention of disrupting peace or communal harmony shall get a minimum 10-year sentence, extendable to up to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 5 lakh, which may go up to Rs 25 lakh, the law says.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Anga, Banga, Kalinga' will have BJP govts next month: Shah
Kolkata (PTI): Asserting that people voted with enthusiasm for a change in the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said 'Anga, Banga and Kalinga', the ancient kingdoms that ruled present-day eastern India, will have BJP governments next month.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said the BJP will bag more than 110 of the 152 seats that went to the polls in the first phase on Thursday.
"People of Bengal broke all records in the first phase and voted with enthusiasm for a change," he said, referring to the over 92 per cent turnout.
"I thank the Election Commission and security forces for ensuring no deaths during the first phase polls," he said, noting that 1,278 people were injured in the 2016 assembly elections, and 1,681 in 2021.
Claiming that the TMC's exit is imminent, Shah said the BJP will form a government in the state with an absolute majority.
"I see a tsunami this time, I feel the number of seats and margin of win will be much higher," he said.
"We will have governments in 'Anga, Banga and Kalinga' after May 5," he said, referring to the ancient kingdoms that once ruled the region.
Having come to power in Odisha in 2024, the BJP is now seeking a third consecutive term in Assam and aiming to unseat the 15-year-old TMC government in West Bengal. The party's first chief minister in Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, won a floor test in the assembly earlier in the day.
Assam voted for its 126-member assembly on April 9, while Bengal will vote for 142 seats in the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes will be held in both the states, along with Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, on May 4.
"Since the beginning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a vision of equal development for both the eastern and western parts of the country, and by forming a government in West Bengal, that vision will be realised," Shah said.
He said anti-incumbency was at its peak in the state in 2021 as well, but the polling was not as fear-free as it should have been.
"A large number of booths were looted, and many people were not allowed to reach the polling stations in that election. But this time, the voters' list has been cleansed, security has been tightened, and the EC has made free and fair election its top priority," he said.
Shah claimed the BJP will get more votes in the state's Presidency Range, comprising Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts in the southern part of the state, than it did in north Bengal, which has been the party's stronghold over the last few years.
Asked about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assertion that the TMC, along with other opposition parties, will "take over Delhi" after winning the West Bengal polls, he said with a wry smile, "Very good! There is nothing left here. Why will she come to Delhi? What should I say?"
He said a Bengal-born and Bengali-speaking person will be the first BJP chief minister of West Bengal, alleging that CM Banerjee was peddling the rumour that "outsiders" would be brought to rule here if the party wins.
Stating that thousands of hectares of land have been illegally encroached in the state over the years, Shah said, "Like Assam, we will undertake a massive drive to free such lands for the development of Bengal."
However, he said the BJP's top priority after forming the government in Bengal will be to ensure the safety and security of women.
"As a gesture in this regard, we have given nominations to women who have been affected by atrocities," he said.
The BJP has given a ticket to Ratna Debnath, the mother of the doctor who was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, in Panihati and Rekha Patra, the face of the Sandeshkhali agitation, in Hingalganj.
"The woman chief minister of a state who says women should not venture out after 7 pm has no right to rule," Shah said, maintaining that even a teenage girl will be able to safely go out at 1 am if the BJP comes to power.
He said he firmly believes that women of Bengal will give an appropriate reply to the TMC for "opposing" the women's quota legislation in Parliament.
"I want to assure the constituencies where elections are yet to be held that we will abolish syndicate raj and 'bhaipo (nephew) tax'," he said, alluding to TMC MP Abhishek Bhanerjee, the nephew of the CM.
Shah said another priority of the new BJP government will be to allot land to the BSF at the India-Bangladesh border for fencing to prevent infiltration.
Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of institutionalising corruption, Shah alleged that scams worth over Rs 10,000 crore took place during the TMC rule in the state since 2011.
He said that after the BJP comes to power in the state, a White Paper will be released on the alleged corruption that happened during the TMC rule, and an investigation will be done under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge.
Urging people to vote for 'parivartan' in the second phase as well, he said it does not mean just changing an MLA, a political party in power or a chief minister, but making the state free of infiltration, corruption and appeasement, and ensuring fast development, obliterating red tape and creating employment opportunities.
"A change in the state will also translate to making short-term and long-term policy for infrastructure development, and to make available resources for those to fructify," he said.
The TMC had come to power in 2011, calling for 'parivartan' of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government that ruled the state for an uninterrupted 34 years from 1977.
