Dera Baba Nanak: Pastor among 13 booked on rape charges

A pastor and 12 other persons have been booked on kidnapping and rape charges based on the complaint of a 22-year-old woman in Dera Baba Nanak falling under the jurisdiction of Batala police in Gurdaspur district, police officials said on Monday.

As per the complaint of the woman, she was thrashed and forced to convert by the accused. The victim is a resident of the village located on the outskirts of Dera Baba Nanak town.

The accused have been identified as pastor Manjit Singh, a resident of Kalanaur, Sawar Masih, his father Kashmir Masih, sisters Kajal, Rina and Jina, victim’s cousin Napinder Singh, Parvez Masih, Happy Masih, all residents of the same village as that of the victim, Rajinder Singh and Rimi, residents of Thikriwal village in Gurdaspur district. Two unknown persons have also been booked.

This is the third pastor after Mohali-based Bajinder Singh, who has been convicted, and Jashan Gill, to be booked on rape charges in Punjab.

In the FIR registered under Sections 70, 127(4) and 61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Dera Baba Nanak Police Station, the victim said she works at a rice mill in Mulowali village on Fatehgarh Churian road.

“Sawar Masih, a resident of my village, took the address of my Instagram ID from my cousin brother Napinder Singh and started following me on the social media platforms. On January 19 this year, Sawar Masih and his cousin came to my mill on a scooter. They called me outside and kidnapped me after threatening me with a sharp-edged weapon. They took me to an unknown place where Sawar’s family was already there. I was raped and thrashed for three months. I was locked inside the house. A pastor, namely Manjit Singh, also came there and forcibly gave me water to drink and told me that I was no longer a Sikh and had converted to Christianity. The pastor also molested me. They forcibly made me sign a document that I have a live-in relationship with Sawar Masih. I also got pregnant,” the victim said in her complaint.

The victim further added that on April 13, when the entire family of Sawar Masih went outside, she managed to escape. “They had locked the main gate, however, forgot to lock me in the room,” the victim added.

Her brother Manpreet Singh said, “We had been searching for my sister for three months but to no avail. We also got missing reports registered at the police station. The panchayat of my village also came to our support, but the cops did not take any action. We faced a lot of hardships in getting the FIR registered against the accused.”

The Dera Baba Nanak station house officer, Satpal Singh, said, “We are investigating the matter after registration of the FIR. Teams have been deployed to arrest the accused,”

Manjit Singh is the third self-styled pastor to have hit the headlines after being booked in rape cases.

On April 1, a Mohali court sentenced self-styled pastor Bajinder Singh, 42, to life imprisonment in a 2018 sexual harassment case registered in Zirakpur.

On April 9 this month, self-styled pastor Jashan Gill, accused of raping a 22-year-old woman in 2023, surrendered before Gurdaspur police after being on the run for two years.