Mohali (Punjab) [India], April 1 : As the Mohali Court in Punjab convicted self-styled Christian Pastor Bajinder Singh to life imprisonment in a 2018 sexual harassment case, the victim, while speaking to reporters on Tuesday thanked the judiciary, including the judge and her advocate for ensuring that justice has been served to her.
"I am very happy. I am thankful to the Judge, my advocate. The court has served justice to me. I am grateful for that, I thank the media, but right now I am not well, please come later and I will give interview to everyone," the victim told reporters outside the court premises.
The Mohali Court had sentenced the self-styled pastor to life imprisonment today (April 1).
In an earlier statement to the media, the victim had expressed a firm desire for a sentence of at least 20 years for the self-styled pastor.
"I want at least 20 years of imprisonment to him. He knows the law very well and does all this crime willingly. I want women to come out and speak freely about him. They should not get scared anymore, " she told ANI.
Earlier, Advocate Anil Sagar, who represented the victim, commented on the importance of the ruling stated, "He was popular as a spiritual leader. His followers used to call him 'Papa ji'. When this kind of crime is committed by such a person, an exemplary punishment must be given. We are satisfied with the quantum of sentence, which is life imprisonment. He has to stay behind bars until his last breath..."
Punjab Police had registered an FIR against Pastor Bajinder Singh after a complaint was filed by the woman alleging assault on her. The incident reportedly took place after a prayer session, where the survivor claimed that she, along with others, was mistreated and physically assaulted.
Narrating her ordeal, the survivor alleged that she was attacked when she tried to intervene in an assault on another individual present at the gathering.
"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.
In his defence the self-styled Pastor Baljinder Singh had said that the allegations against him are false. He claimed that the girl was suffering from an 'evil spirit,' experienced fits, and came to him for prayer. However, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to life.