The Punjab police arrested popular Punjabi singer-composer and songwriter, Daler Mehendi, in a 2003 human-trafficking case. Mehndi used to ask for money from people in exchange for illegally taking them abroad as a part of his dance troupe during his concerts in Canada and the USA. He was earlier sentenced to 2 years term in 2018.
Patiala: Punjab police have arrested popular Punjabi singer, Daler Mehndi after a court in Punjab’s Patiala sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a human trafficking case on Thursday.
This was a review hearing in the case after a 2018 sentence in the same court, where he was convicted in a 2003 human trafficking case. The court has upheld its previous sentence. Earlier too, he was sentenced to two years in jail and was later let out on bail.
The court has directed an immediate arrest of Mehndi, following which he was arrested.
Mehndi was convicted under sections 406, 420, 120B, 465, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Indian Passport Act after an FIR at the Sadar Patiala police station back in 2003. The court has punished the Punjabi singer for two years against the appeal.
In 2003, Mehndi, his now deceased brother Shamsher Singh, and two others were booked by Patiala police, in a human trafficking case. After registering of the first complaint, the police received 35 more similar complaints against the popular singer.
According to some complainants he had taken varying amounts of money in the range of around 12 lakh rupees from people in exchange for sending them to foreign countries, mostly Canada and the USA illegally. They had promised people to send people abroad as a part of their dance troupes on his foreign shows, in exchange for large sums.
Punjab police had found ample evidence against Daler Mehndi after they raided his Connaught Place-based office in New Delhi and seized some documents.
