HC relief for Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi in human-trafficking case

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High court on Thursday suspended the two-year jail term of Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi in the 2003 human trafficking case. The single bench of Justice G S Gill suspended the sentence of Mehndi who was sentenced to a two-year jail in the human trafficking case. Arshdeep Singh Cheema, lawyer of the singer said, "His sentence has been suspended, which means that he will be out on bail, pending proceedings before the high court."

On July 20, Mehndi approached the Punjab and Haryana High court awarded in March 2018, in the 2003 human trafficking case. After the Patiala district and sessions, the district court upheld the two-year jail term. The additional district sessions judge dismissed Mehndi’s appeal on July 14 and thus he was taken into custody and lodged in Patiala central jail. A Patiala court in March 2018 had sentenced Mehndi to two years in jail in the human trafficking case. Mehndi was then released on bail. He was held guilty on charges of cheating and conspiracy. In 2018 the trial court had convicted and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000.

The Patiala Police had booked Daler Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Mehndi, who died in 2017, on a complaint filed by one Bakshish Singh who had alleged that the singer had taken money for taking him to Canada. Also some 35 more complaints levelled charges of fraud against the brothers also came up later. The complainants had alleged that the brothers had taken ‘passage money’ from them to help them migrate to the United States illegally, but failed to do so. It was also alleged that the Mehndi brothers took two troupes in 1998 and 1999 during the course of which 10 persons were taken to the US as group members and “dropped off” illegally.