A special court in Mohali on Tuesday sentenced self-proclaimed Christian pastor Bajinder Singh to life imprisonment till death in connection with a rape case dating back to 2018. The verdict was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Vikrant Kumar, who found Bajinder guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 376 (rape), Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 506 (criminal intimidation).

The court had, on March 28, 2025, convicted Bajinder of raping a woman under the pretext of helping her settle abroad. Following the conviction, Bajinder was immediately taken into judicial custody and sent to Patiala jail. Despite his emotional pleas for leniency, citing a leg injury, his wife’s ill health, and his young children, the Court rejected his arguments and sentenced him to life imprisonment until his last breath.

Bajinder Singh, popularly known among his followers as the ‘Yeshu-Yeshu wale Baba’, commanded a significant following due to his religious influence.

The case against Pastor Bajinder was registered in 2018 when a woman from Zirakpur accused him of sexual assault. The victim alleged that Bajinder lured her to his residence in Mohali’s Sector 63 on the pretext of assisting her with immigration matters. Once there, he allegedly raped her and recorded a video of the act, using it to threaten her into silence.

An FIR was lodged against Bajinder, and he was arrested from Delhi airport before he could flee the country. However, he was later released on bail. The complainant had also named five other men, including fellow pastors Jatinder and Akbar, Sattar Ali, and Sandeep Pehalwan. On March 28, the Mohali court acquitted these five co-accused due to a lack of evidence, leaving Bajinder Singh as the sole convict in the case.

Bajinder’s conviction and sentencing mark the culmination of a protracted legal battle. On March 3, a Mohali court issued a non-bailable warrant against him, paving the way for the final phase of the trial. His conviction on March 28 was followed by Tuesday’s sentencing, in which the court delivered a strong message against sexual crimes.

The victim’s legal representatives, Sumit Sawhney and Anil Sagar, welcomed the decision. “This verdict will serve as a shield for other women who have suffered similar abuse. It reaffirms the faith in the justice system,” they said.

The victim’s husband revealed shocking claims about attempts to derail the case. He alleged that Bajinder Singh had exerted immense pressure on their family to withdraw the charges. The husband further claimed that he was wrongfully imprisoned in Burail and Kapurthala jails as part of intimidation tactics. “We stood our ground despite being threatened. When that didn’t work, a high-ranking associate of Bajinder Singh approached us with an offer of Rs five crore to settle the matter, but we refused,” he said, adding that they plan to appeal against the acquittal of the other five accused in a higher court.

Even as he faces life imprisonment in the 2018 rape case, Bajinder is entangled in multiple legal troubles. Another woman accused him of sexual harassment in 2022, stating that he took her to a private cabin inside his church and touched her inappropriately. When she resisted, he allegedly threatened to harm her family. This case, registered in Kapurthala, is under investigation by a special investigation team (SIT).

Only recently, a video surfaced showing a man — allegedly Bajinder Singh — physically assaulting a woman and a man inside what appears to be an office. The complainant in another case submitted the video to Phagwara’s Superintendent of Police Rupinder Kaur Bhatti, though authorities stated that it is unrelated to the 2018 rape case.

Know Pastor Bajinder Singh

·         Born on September 10, 1982, in Yamunanagar, Haryana

·         15 years ago, he was jailed in a murder case, where he converted to Christianity

·         After being released from jail in 2012, he started preaching religion

·         Started a Tajpur Church in Chandigarh and began Sunday prayer gatherings

·         Claims to cure illnesses and solve people's problems through prayer

·         Started ministry through the ‘Church of Glory and Wisdom’

·         The Church has 20 branches in India and 12 abroad

·         His YouTube channel, named ‘Pastor Bajinder Singh’, has 3.75 million subscribers