Pastor Bajinder Singh: A court in Punjab’s Mohali has sentenced self-styled pastor Bajinder Singh to life imprisonment in a 2018 rape case. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Vikrant Kumar.
Bajinder Singh was found guilty on March 28 under sections 376 (rape), 323 (causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. He was sent to Patiala jail after his conviction.
The case was filed in 2018 based on a woman’s complaint at Zirakpur police station in Mohali. The complainant alleged that Singh lured her with promises of taking her abroad. She accused him of raping her at his residence in Sector 63, Mohali, and recording a video of the act. She also claimed he threatened to release the video online if she did not comply with his demands.
Tight security was in place at the court complex for the verdict. Five co-accused in the case—Akhbar Bhatti, Rajesh Chaudhary, Jatinder Kumar, Sitar Ali, and Sandeep Pehlwan—were acquitted.
Meanwhile, Singh is also under investigation for another sexual harassment case filed on February 28. A 22-year-old woman has accused him of misconduct, and a three-member special investigation team has been set up by Kapurthala Police to probe the matter. Singh has dismissed the allegations as false.
On March 25, Mohali Police booked him for assault after a video surfaced showing him slapping a woman. The footage, reportedly from February 14, shows him arguing with the woman, throwing papers at her, and hitting her.
Bajinder Singh, who became a Christian preacher in 2012, runs ‘The Church of Glory and Wisdom’ in Jalandhar and another church in Mohali. His supporters claim his church has several branches in India and abroad. His congregations, where followers seek healing, are streamed live on his YouTube channel, ‘Prophet Bajinder Singh,’ which has 3.74 million subscribers.
(With PTI inputs)