Farmers Protest: Unable to bear 'farmers' plight', Sikh cleric shoots himself dead
Chandigarh, Dec 16: A Sikh preacher supporting the farmers' agitation against the Centre's agriculture laws allegedly committed suicide near the Singhu border in Delhi on Wednesday, police said.
A handwritten note in Punjabi, purportedly left behind by the deceased, says he was unable to bear the "pain of farmers".
The note is being verified by police.
An official of the Sonipat police said they had received a call that Sant Ram Singh (65), who hailed from Karnal, allegedly shot himself.
The deceased was rushed to a hospital in Panipat where doctors declared him brought dead.
The official said the exact spot where the incident took place is being verified and police are in the process of recording statements of the deceased's family members.
SAD spokesperson and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa expressed grief over the incident and urged farmers to exercise restraint.
A very sad news has been received that Sant Ram Singh, who dedicated his life to the service of humanity, committed suicide by shooting himself, he said on his Twitter handle.
According to Sirsa, the victim wrote in his suicide note that he was unable to to bear the "pain of the farmers".
It is a sin to suffer atrocity and witness it, which I cannot see, Sirsa said the cleric wrote in his suicide note.
Sirsa appealed to farmers to exercise restraint.
It is a very grave time. I request you as the chief sewadar of the DSGMC to exercise restraint because anybody can do mischief in the farmers' agitation. It is a very sad incident for all of us but we need to be restrained, said Sirsa.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other state have been protesting near the Delhi borders for the past three weeks, demanding that the Centre's farm laws be repealed.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
