A Punjab court on Tuesday sentenced a self-proclaimed pastor Bajinder Singh to life imprisonment for raping a woman in a 2018 case, according to Indian media reports. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Vikrant Kumar pronounced the conviction of rape, voluntary hurt and criminal intimidation under different clauses of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 376, 323 and 506 against Bajinder Singh. The case was created on that basis after Bajinder Singh was accused of raping a woman at his Chandigarh home and recording the assault.
Born into a Hindu Jat family in Yamunanagar, Haryana, Bajinder Singh became a Christian 15 years ago while in jail for a murder conviction. He became a pastor over the years and founded his own ministry, The Church of Glory and Wisdom, in 2016. By professing to perform miraculous healings at mass gatherings, Singh garnered a level of popularity among followers who claimed that he would cure diseases such as HIV and muteness. In addition, he also posted videos of these surrender changes on his YouTube channel (3.74 million subscribers).
Prophet Rajinder Singh, who often referred to himself as that on Instagram, performed in front of large audiences, leading them to sing after ‘purported miracles’ after hearing ‘Mere Yeshu Yeshu’. However, it seemed that his reputation took an ugly turn in 2018 when a woman filed a complaint with Zirakpur police station. He had lured her with the promise of taking her abroad, where he raped her at his Mohali house, recorded the assault and threatened to post the video on social media if she did not meet his demands, the complainant alleged.
He is serving a sentence in this case, too, as he is already convicted, and he is also being investigated in another sexual harassment case that was filed in February 2023.
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