In a 2003 human trafficking case, a Patiala court on Thursday sentenced Punjabi musician Daler Mehndi to two years in prison.
In a 19-year-old trafficking case where Mehndi and his brother were accused of transferring individuals overseas illegally while posing as members of their dance troupe, a district court in Patiala affirmed a 2018 judgment by a trial court. Judge HS Grewal of the Patiala Additional Sessions commended the singer’s immediate arrest.
The Mehndi brothers are accused of taking two troupes to the US in 1998 and 1999, involving 10 persons for illegal immigration, according to the article. The first complaint was brought in September 2003 at the Patiala Sadar police station by a guy by the name of Bakshish Singh.
To deport me to Canada, they collected 13 lakh from me, Bakshish Singh said to ANI today. “They neither sent me overseas nor gave me my money back. They used to transfer individuals abroad at that time as a job.”
The singer was charged with violating sections 406, 420, 120B, 465, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian Passport Act in 2013 after an FIR was filed at the Sardar Patiala police station.
A judge found both of the brothers guilty in 2018 and gave them a two-year prison term. However, shortly after the conviction, bail was granted. Subsequently, they appealed to the Sessions Court.
Daler may now appeal to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
