Daler Mehndi sentenced for 2 years in human trafficking case

Singer Daler Mehndi's appeal against a two-year prison term in a 2003 case of human trafficking — for taking people overseas by showing them as troupe members — was dismissed by a district court in Patiala on July 14, and he was sent to jail. Originally sentenced in 2018, Daler was on bail so far, as per NDTV.

In the complaints filed almost two decades ago, Daler and his brother Shamsher Singh were accused of collecting "passage money" to take people abroad, mainly to the US and Canada, via the "troupe" route. While they did take some people, there were others who said they took money but did not live up to their promise.

The case in September 2003 at Patiala was filed by one such man, named Bakshish Singh. He said the brothers took two troupes to the US in 1998 and 1999, including 10 people for illegal migration. "They took INR13 lakhs from me. Neither did they send me abroad, nor did they return my money,” the victim was quoted as saying.

The brothers were arrested a month after the FIR but were granted bail within days. Both were charged under Indian Penal Code's sections for human trafficking and conspiracy, and under the Indian Passport Act. After that FIR, 35 other complaints came up too, as per reports. Shamsher died in 2017, when the trial was still on.