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After 560 days atop 400-ft tower in Samana, Gurjeet Khalsa ends sacrilege protest
Former soldier-turned-activist descends following Punjab govt’s notification of amended law proposing life term for sacrilege.
Activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, 43, who had been protesting atop a 400-foot BSNL tower in Samana town of Patiala district for the past 560 days, descended safely on Friday morning. A former army sepoy and dairy farmer, Khalsa had climbed the structure on October 12, 2024, to demand stricter punishments for incidents of beadbi (sacrilege) involving Guru Granth Sahib.
The breakthrough follows the Punjab government’s official notification of the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026. The new legislation, which fulfilled Khalsa’s core demand, proposes a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment, extendable to life for criminal conspiracies intended to disrupt communal harmony, along with fines of up to ₹25 lakh. While the Punjab assembly passed the Bill on April 13 and governor Gulab Chand Kataria gave his assent on April 19. Khalsa, however, refused to budge until the official gazette notification was issued and presented to him at the tower’s base.
High-stakes rescue
The rescue operation began at 7.25am on Friday under tight security. Executed by the state fire service, district police, and civil officials, the extraction required specialised equipment, including a turntable ladder and a crane-lift. Khalsa, whose physical health has deteriorated due to prolonged immobility and extreme exposure, was secured with chains and a safety belt by fire officials.
Harinderpal Singh, an assistant fire officer from Patiala, said that the operation required reaching a considerable height where teams first secured Khalsa on an upper platform before lowering him via the hydraulic ladder. As he stepped onto the ground at 7.35am amid ‘Sikh Jaikara’ and ‘Jo Bole So Nihal’ chants, a visibly frail Khalsa declared, “We have won. By the Guru’s grace, I have come down safely after 18 months and 12 days. I thank the Punjab government for enacting this law.” He expressed specific gratitude to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan for the legislation.
Life on the edge
A resident of Kheri Nagaiyan village, Khalsa’s military background is credited for his survival in the cramped 8-by-10-foot space near the tower’s antennae for over a year and a half.
He stayed in a makeshift tarpaulin shelter atop the tower, using a polythene bag to relieve himself. He survived on a single daily meal sent up by supporters via ropes.
Supporters, who had turned the BSNL exchange into a site of religious vigil, showered the ambulance with flower petals as he was taken for a medical check-up.
Doctors at the site confirmed that while Khalsa remained in “chardi kala (high spirits)”, the 560-day vigil has left him with muscle atrophy, diabetes, and hypertension. His wife, Gurpreet Kaur, who watched the descent with relief, said the family had spent nearly two years in constant anxiety. “Initially, we thought it would last a few days, but his resolve for the Guru was unshakable,” she said. Their son, Ashmeet Singh, cleared his matriculation exams while his father was still on the tower. His brother took over the dairy business to support the family during his 18-month absence.
