New Delhi: Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi on Thursday was sentenced to two years in jail in a human-trafficking case.
Patiala, Punjab | Singer Daler Mehndi sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a human trafficking case of 2003. He has been taken into custody (by police). His application for release on probation also dismissed by court: Advocate Gurmeet Singh, Complainant's lawyer pic.twitter.com/bHOwcsHAD4
— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2022
The Patiala Sessions Court on Thursday upheld a 2018 verdict by a trial court in a 19-year-old trafficking case where Mehndi and his brother were accused of illegally sending people abroad disguised as members of his dance crew.
The court dismissed Mehndi’s application for release on probation and ordered immediate arrest, following which he was taken into custody.
The case dates back to 19 September, 2003 when Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Singh were illegally sending people abroad as part of his dance crew in exchange for an exorbitant charge.
The brothers apparently took 10 people to the US in 1998-1999 and subsequently left them there.
The case against them was first filed by Patiala resident Bakshish Singh, who said he was defrauded by the duo after paying them Rs 4.5 lakh to take him abroad. Soon, 35 other complaints were registered against the brothers.
The court took cognisance of the cases and prosecutors alleged the brothers duped people to the tune of around Rs 1 crore.
In 2018, the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JFMC) held both brothers guilty and sentenced them to two years in jail. However, they were granted bail minutes after the conviction. They later filed an appeal in the Sessions Court.
Mehndi can still approach the high court or the Supreme Court to challenge Thursday’s verdict.
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