Patiala, April 23 -- The Patiala administration has sought the army's help to safely bring down activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, 43, who has been sitting atop a 400-ft BSNL tower for the past 560 days in Samana, demanding stringent punishment for sacrilege incidents, officials said.

Khalsa climbed the tower on October 12, 2024. He is expected to come down on April 24. The Punjab government notified the amended 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 on Monday.

The Patiala deputy commissioner, Himanshu Aggarwal, on Tuesday, wrote to the Punjab g...