Bajinder Singh, a self-described Christian preacher, was sentenced to life in jail by a special court in Mohali, Punjab, on Tuesday for the 2018 rape case. The decision was handed down by Vikrant Kumar, the court of additional district and sessions judge. Singh was sent to Patiala jail after Kumar found him guilty last Friday of violating Sections 376 (rape), 323 (penalty for causing pain), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the woman’s advocate Sumit Sawhney, Bajinder Singh begged the judge for leniency, explaining that he has a rod in his leg that makes it impossible for him to walk normally. He added that his wife is often ill and that he has no one to look after her, and that his children are quite little. However, the court upheld its decision and sentenced him to life imprisonment until his last breath, said Sawhney.
Following the verdict, the victim’s lawyers, Sawhney and Anil Sagar, welcomed the Mohali court’s decision, stating, “This verdict will serve as a shield for other girls as well.” A non-bailable warrant was issued against Bajinder Singh on March 3 in connection with this case. The case dates back to 2018, when the complainant, a woman from Zirakpur, Punjab, named five others along with the pastor — pastors Jatinder and Akbar, Sattar Ali, and Sandeep Pehalwan. However, the court acquitted the other five men on March 28.
He was arrested at the Delhi airport before he could board a flight after a First Information Report (FIR) for rape was filed against him. Later, he was freed on bond. A 22-year-old woman’s accusations led to the filing of a new sexual harassment prosecution against Bajinder on February 28. The woman claimed in her complaint that on a Sunday in 2022, the pastor led her into a church cabin, hugged her, and made unwanted physical contact. She added that if she reported the assault, he threatened to hurt her family.
Recently, a video surfaced showing a man, reported to be Bajinder, slapping another man and a woman inside an office-like room. In a different case, the complainant sent this footage to a special investigative team headed by Rupinder Kaur Bhatti, the Phagwara Police Superintendent. But according to Bhatti, the video has nothing to do with this case and is still being looked at.
