A Mohali POCSO court has convicted controversial pastor Bajinder Singh in the 2018 Zirakpur rape and sexual assault case. The court will announce his sentence on April 1. Singh, arrested in 2018 while attempting to flee to London, was charged under multiple IPC sections.
A special POCSO court in Mohali has convicted controversial pastor Bajinder Singh in the 2018 Zirakpur sexual assault and rape case. The court will announce his sentence on April 1. Singh appeared before the court on Friday along with six other accused. However, due to a lack of evidence, five co-accused were acquitted.
Arrested while boarding flight to London
The case dates back to 2018 when a woman from Zirakpur accused Bajinder Singh of sexual assault. He was arrested in July 2018 at Delhi airport while attempting to board a flight to London.
The Zirakpur police had registered an FIR against Bajinder Singh, who claimed to heal illnesses through miracles, along with six others based on the survivor’s complaint. The other accused included Akbar Bhatti, Rajesh Chaudhary, Sucha Singh, Jatinder Kumar, Sitar Ali, and Sandeep alias Pehlwan.
Allegations and investigation
The police booked the accused under IPC sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 354 (outraging modesty), 294 (obscene acts), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting), and 149 (unlawful assembly).
According to the chargesheet, Bajinder Singh, the pastor of The Church of Glory and Wisdom in Tajpur village, allegedly sexually harassed a minor girl in Jalandhar. He reportedly took her phone number and started sending obscene messages. He also allegedly made her sit alone in his cabin at the church, where he misbehaved with her.
Following the complaint, the Kapurthala police had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.
