Punjab pastor Bajinder Singh booked for sexual harassment; who is he?

The Kapurthala police registered a case of sexual harassment against Bajinder Singh, a village church pastor from Punjab’s Jalandhar district. He is famous on social media for his 'Yeshu, Yeshu' videos which often go viral.

Bajinder Singh, whose Instagram handle describes him as ‘Prophet' became popular for his so-called 'miracles', which he performed on stage followed by a song 'Mere Yeshu Yeshu' praising Jesus Christ.

According to the Kapurthala SHO, Bajinder Singh the accused has been booked under 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

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Inappropriate behaviour

A woman said Singh runs a Christian ministry called The Church of Glory and Wisdom at Tajpur village in Jalandhar. In her complaint, she said that her family began attending the church in October 2017. Eventually, the pastor got her personal phone number and started to send inappropriate messages and attempted to engage in ‘indecent’ conversation over the phone.

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She claimed that in 2022 the pastor invited her to sit alone with him in the church's cabin on Sundays, and touched her inappropriately. She stated that if any harm were to befall her or her family, pastor Bajinder Singh and a Christian leader Avatar Singh are to be held responsible.

Who is Bajinder Singh?

Pastor Bajinder Singh is known for his weekly mass congregations, which are attended by people from all walks of life. The self-proclaimed prophet claims to have performed miracles and healed people of HIV, and other diseases and made the injured walk.

Singh allegedly performed his miracles on stage and posted them on his YouTube channel, which boasts 3.74 million subscribers.

According to reports, born into a Hindu Jat family in Haryana’s Yamunanagar, Bajinder Singh converted to Christianity nearly 15 years ago when he was in jail. After serving as a pastor he set up his own ministry. He also had a rape case against him.

Also read: 17-yr-old gets 20 years rigorous imprisonment for raping, impregnating girl

Church members stage protest

Christian leader Avtar Singh, who was also named in the report, had dismissed the FIR filed against the pastor, accusing him of inappropriate behaviour with a woman, as "false". This FIR was filed as part of a conspiracy, he alleged.

Avtar Singh added that the woman who accused the pastor is making baseless claims and hasn’t attended the church for three years. He claimed she had no evidence to support her claims and threatened action against her if the police didn't take the ‘appropriate’ action.

A few women devotees from the church also staged a protest claiming that the allegations against the pastor are false.