News has poured in this afternoon from Punjab that singer Daler Mehndi has been sentenced to two years in prison for human trafficking.
#UPDATE: Daler Mehndi sentenced to 2-years in prison after being convicted in a 2003 human trafficking case by Patiala Court. #Punjab
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2018
The sentence was passed by the Patiala Court for the 2003 case of human trafficking against Mehndi, his brother Shamsher and some of his associates.
The conviction was following a complaint filed by one Bakshish Singh from Balbehra village, Punjab, in 2003.
He claimed that Mehndi and the others had taken money from him on the pretext of sending him abroad as part of the singer’s troupe. Shamsher had paid lakhs to the two as ‘passage money’.
Bakshish Singh had passed away in October 2017.
According to reports, Mehndi and his brother had taken two troupes in 1998 and 1999, under the guise of which 10 people were given illegal passage to the United States.
According to Quint, After the initial complaint, several other cases of fraud were levelled against the two brothers.
The Patiala police had even raided there offices in Connaught Place, Delhi, and found documents pertaining to the persons that were dropped off so illegally.
But in an equally shocking twist only possible in India, Daler Mehndi has been granted bail already!
#UPDATE After conviction in a 2003 human trafficking case, #DalerMehndi granted bail by Patiala Court.
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2018
Well, that was fast! Wonder what more surprises this case will bring!