Crime Today News
Bajinder Singh, a Christian preacher from Chandigarh, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 rape case by a Mohali court on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported.
On Friday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Vikrant Kumar had convicted Singh under sections of the Indian Penal Code related to rape, punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation. He was sent to Patiala jail.
Singh runs the Church of Glory and Wisdom in Punjab’s Tajpur and Majri. He claims to cure ailments and solve problems through “miracle services”. Rationalists have called Singh a fraud who promotes superstition amongst his followers for financial profit.
The case in which he has been sentenced was registered based on a complaint filed by a woman at the Zirakpur police station in 2018, NDTV reported. The woman accused Singh of luring her to his home in Sector 63 in Mohali under the pretext of helping her move abroad, The Indian Express reported.
In her complaint, the woman claimed that Singh raped her at his home and recorded a video of it. He threatened to post the video on social media if she did not agree to his demands, the complaint added.
The police filed a first information report against Singh. He was arrested at the Delhi airport later that year, but was released on bail.
Singh was also booked in a separate case by the Punjab Police on February 28 for sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation based on a complaint filed by a 21-year-old woman who was a former volunteer at his ministry, The Hindu reported.
According to The Tribune, Singh has amassed a net worth of several crores. He has more than one million followers on Facebook and Instagram and close to four million on YouTube.
Also read: What explains a controversial Punjabi preacher’s astonishing popularity in Jharkhand?
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