‘Yeshu Yeshu’ pastor Bajinder Singh gets life term in 2018 rape case

Bajinder Singh from Punjab gets a life term in the Zirakpur rape case from 2018.

On Tuesday, a Mohali court awarded life imprisonment to self-styled Punjab pastor Bajinder Singh in the 2018 Zirakpur rape case. A purported video of pastor Bajinder assaulting a man and woman in his office went viral on social media. The court pronounced his conviction last week. He was convicted under Sections 376 (rape), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Bajinder Singh gets a life term in the 2018 Zirakpur rape case.

Mohali court awarded ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ Bajinder Singh a life term in the 2018 Zirakpur rape case. Five other accused in the case – pastor Jatinder, pastor Akbar, Sattar Ali, and Sandeep Pehalwan were acquitted. Reacting to the verdict, the victim in the case said, “He (Bajinder) is a psycho and will do the same offense after coming out of jail, so I want him to stay in the prison. A lot of girls (victims) have won today. I request that DGP ensure our security since there is a possibility of attacks on us.” Earlier, she had demanded at least 20 years of imprisonment for the accused. Advocate Anil Sagar, counsel for the victim said, “There is a punishment of 10-20 years for the offense of rape depending upon the circumstances of the case. In this case, I pray for the highest quantum because this person used to lure people in the name of religion. It is important to punish him exemplarily. I hope that after this, the girls who are facing such crimes will come forth and speak about the atrocities.”

More on the 2018 Zirakpur rape case.

The case happened in 2018 when a woman from Zirakpur complained, alleging that Bajinder sexually assaulted her under the pretence of helping her travel abroad. The woman claimed that he recorded an obscene video of her and threatened to post the video on social media if she didn’t agree to his demands. Bajinder was out on bail in the case.