Morcha coordinator Gurpreet Singh said no cash transactions would be accepted in support of the agitation. “We have appealed to supporters that if they wish to contribute, they may render seva (voluntary service) directly. No cash donations will be accepted,” he said, adding that the decision was taken to prevent allegations of financial impropriety that usually surface during similar agitations.The present unrest remained centred in Samana town of Patiala district, where tensions simmered for months. Activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa staged a protest atop a nearly 400-foot BSNL tower in Samana since October 12-2024, and his sit-in crossed 500 days, with a demand for a stringent national law against sacrilege of religious scriptures.On Tuesday (February 24), Punjab Police carried out preventive detentions of nearly 200 protesters, including farmer leaders and social media influencer, to prevent them from setting up a permanent morcha in Samana. Police also established checkpoints at locations including Dharedi Jatta and Bhawanigarh and made preventive detentions and released them later.BKU Ekta-Sidhupur leaders alleged the checkpoints were used to harass and unlawfully stop farmers from exercising their democratic right to protest. Police officials maintained the detentions were preventive measures aimed at maintaining law and order. Both Patiala SSP Varun Sharma and Sangrur SSP SS Chahal confirmed that none of the farmers were currently under detention as all of them were released. At the heart of the agitation was the proposed Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, which activists said must be enacted without delay. Sacrilege remained a sensitive and politically volatile issue in Punjab since the 2015 Bargari incidents. Though the AAP-led state govt introduced legislation in 2025, protestors argued the process slowed within committees, prompting renewed mobilisation.With tensions already high in Samana, authorities were likely to remain on alert.
