Who is Bajinder Singh? 'Yeshu Yeshu pastor' sentenced to life in prison in 2018 sexual harassment case

Bajinder Singh, aka the 'Yeshu Yeshu pastor', on Tuesday (Apr 1) was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2018 sexual harassment case by a court in Punjab's Mohali.

Who is Bajinder Singh? Here's everything you need to know about him

42-year-old Bajinder Singh is the founder and the head of the Church of Glory and Wisdom, which has churches in Jalandhar and New Chandigarh.

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A controversial self-styled Christian pastor, he is famously known as the 'Yeshu Yeshu prophet,' because of videos of his sermons which typically have 'Mera Yashu Yashu' playing in the background.

Recently, on Friday (Mar 28), Bajinder Singh was found guilty in the 2018 sexual misconduct case, in which the "prophet" along with five others, was accused of sexual harassment by a 22-year-old woman.

Bajinder Singh sexual harassment allegations

In 2018, a woman from Punjab's Zirakpur alleged that she had started visiting the pastor's church in October 2017 with her parents, and soon after, Bajinder Singh took her phone number and started sending her text messages.

From 2022, the pastor allegedly made her sit alone in a cabin in the church on Sundays, and he would hug her and touch her inappropriately. She also alleged that Singh threatened to get her and her family members killed if she lodged a complaint against him.

She claimed she did not tell her parents about the harassment and abuse, as she was afraid of the pastor.

In his defence, Singh claimed that the girl was suffering from "evil spirit," and that she experienced fits and had come to him for prayers.

Bajinder Singh previous controversies

This is not the first time when Bajinder Singh has got embroiled in a controversy.

In 2022, he was accused of taking money from a family based in Delhi for treating their daughter who was ill, but could not be saved.

In 2023, the income tax department raided his premises.

More recently, another case of assault was filed against Singh after a video showing him thrashing a man and a woman holding a baby went viral.

The video sparked an outrage after Bajinder Singh was seen throwing a phone and a book at two people in his office.

The woman said she worked at Bajinder Singh's church for many years, but resigned after the incident. She also alleged that young women and girls who volunteered at the church were being stalked and harassed, and that Singh manhandles those who raise a voice.

Narrating her ordeal, she said she was trying to intervene in the assault of another individual when the pastor turned on her.

"When I stopped him (Pastor Bajinder Singh) from hitting a person present there, he hit me with a notebook. At the time, my 1.5-year-old daughter was with me. He also badly hit the boy present there. The government should probe if the footage was real or AI-generated. After this, I resigned from the Church. He also threatened me. I had gone there out of devotion..." she stated.

(With inputs from agencies)