After 560 days, man ends his protest atop 400-foot-high tower in Punjab

A 43-year-old man, Gurjeet Singh, has been rescued from a 400-foot-high BSNL tower in Punjab's Patiala district after a 560-day protest. He climbed the tower in October 2024, demanding stricter laws against the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. The protest concluded following the Punjab government's official notification of the Jagjit Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act. The rescue operation, conducted on the morning of April 24, required specialised equipment, including a turntable ladder and a crane lift, due to Khalsa's deteriorated health and significant weight gain from prolonged immobility. During his 18-month stay in an eight-by-ten-foot makeshift tarpaulin shelter near the tower's antenna, he survived on a single daily meal sent up by supporters via ropes and used a polythene bag to relieve himself. The extraction safely brought him back to the ground, ending a prolonged demonstration over sacrilege laws in the state.