NEW DELHI: A Punjab court on Tuesday sentenced self-proclaimed Christian pastor Bajinder Singh to life imprisonment in a 2018 rape case.
Singh, often referred to as the ‘Yeshu Yeshu prophet,’ was convicted for sexually assaulting a woman from Zirakpur.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Vikrant Kumar pronounced the verdict, finding him guilty on March 28 under IPC sections 376 (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The special judge’s court sentenced Pastor Bajinder under sections 376, 323, and 506, leading to his immediate custody and transfer to Patiala Jail.
The court acquitted the remaining accused—Akbar Bhatti, Rajesh Chaudhary, Jatinder Kumar, Sitar Ali, and Sandeep alias Pehlwan—due to a lack of evidence, while another accused, Sucha Singh, died during the trial. Many supporters of Pastor Bajinder gathered outside the court complex, but police prevented them from entering.
According to case reports, the Zirakpur police registered a case against Pastor Bajinder Singh and six other accused, including Akbar Bhatti, Rajesh Chaudhary, Sucha Singh, Jatinder Kumar, Sitar Ali, and Sandeep alias Pehlwan, based on a victim’s complaint. The charges were filed under sections 376, 420, 354, 294, 323, 506, 148, and 149 of the IPC.
The victim alleged in her police report that she first met Pastor Bajinder at a roadside eatery and later began attending his prayer meetings.
Pastor Bajinder obtained personal information about her, and she gradually started following his instructions.
In September 2017, he called her to a roadside eatery in Zirakpur and asked her to bring her passport.
She complied, and he then took her to his flat. There, he told her he was traveling to the UK soon and promised to take her along.
Under the pretence of facilitating her travel abroad, he allegedly established physical relations with her against her will and recorded an obscene video after rendering her unconscious.
Subsequently, Pastor Bajinder demanded a large sum of money for the overseas trip, threatening to leak the video if she failed to comply. He continued to exploit her under duress, using the threat of making the video public.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
