A case has been registered against self-styled 42-year-old Christian pastor, Prophet Bajinder Singh for alleged sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation after a complaint filed by a 22-year-old woman in Punjab’s Kapurthala, police said on March 2.
However, the pastor has denied the allegations, claiming that another pastor plotted a “scandal” against him.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that she started working with Bajinder Singh when she was 17, and since then, he has made unwanted advances towards her. He inappropriately touched her, pressured her to marry him even when she was already married, stalked her, and threatened to harm her family if she spoke about it to anyone, she alleged.
According to the woman, her parents took her to Baljinder Singh’s ‘Church of Glory and Wisdom’ in 2017. She alleged he took her phone number and started sending lewd messages to her. “I got scared and did not tell my parents about it,” the woman alleged in her complaint.
She further said that she was part of the self-styled pastor’s worship team from 2020 to 2022. During this period, the accused allegedly took her phone number and began contacting her.
“While talking to me over the phone, the accused used to have unwanted and vulgar conversations, to which I always objected,” the woman said in her complaint. “In 2022, I attended his congregations on Sunday, where he used to touch me inappropriately when I was alone in his cabin.” The complainant also alleged that the accused followed her while she was on her way to college.
She said she experienced panic attacks and harassment for years, even during her marriage and pregnancy. She also accused eight others of issuing threats.
The complaint was filed on February 20, based on which, a case was registered on February 23, under sections 354-A (sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“We are cross-checking and verifying the allegations levelled by the woman,” Kapurthala City police station house officer (SHO) Bikramjit Singh said, adding that the accused is yet to be arrested.
“The arrest will be made on the basis of evidence which will come to the fore during the course of the investigation,” the SHO added.
Prophet Bajinder is now residing in New Chandigarh. He adopted Christianity and became a self-styled pastor in 2012, practising ‘miracle healing’ and claiming to cure fatal diseases, paralysis and other ailments through prayers at his congregations.
Interestingly, Prophet Bajinder claims to cure all kinds of diseases with the chant “Yeshu Yeshu.” He has a considerable social media following.
Notably, he was previously accused of rape in 2022 by a woman in Zirakpur, however, he was acquitted in the case after the charges against him could not be proved in court.
In 2022, in another case, a Delhi family alleged that Propht Bajinder had taken money from them for treating their daughter, who was suffering from cancer through prayers but failed.
He has gained popularity over the years and has nearly 3 million followers on social media, besides having centres overseas.
