Bhangra-pop singer Daler Mehndi has pleaded not guilty in a 15-year-old human trafficking case after he was sentenced to two years in jail by a court in Patiala, Punjab.
Mehndi was later granted bail and addressed the media saying he would appeal to a higher court.
Police had earlier taken two petitions to the court saying that Mehndi was not required in the case as he had nothing to do with the immigration fraud, called ‘kabootarbaazi’ — translating to flying pigeons that refers to youth in Punjab using illegal means to move overseas.
Mehndi was first arrested in October 2003 along with his brother Shamsher Singh after the complainant said he was duped of a huge sum of money after they had promised to take him abroad as part of their musical group and leave him in a western country to settle there.
Police had registered a case against Mehndi, his brother — who died last October — and two others after it was alleged that the accused took money from people to the tune of Rs10 million (Dh564,776) on the pretext of taking them abroad.
The complainant, Bakhshish Singh, alleged that the deal never took place and the accused failed to return the money.
After investigations, police officials stated the singers and other performers had got into a well-organised racket to illegally take youth out of Punjab to western countries by making them part of musical troupes. The youth were charged up to Rs2 million in each case.
Mehndi’s arrest at a police station in Patiala in 2003 was seen as controversial as he was asked to strip by a few junior officers during interrogation. He spent a few days behind bars before being released on bail.
His younger brother, singer Mika, who accompanied him during the surrender in 2003, had to beat a hasty retreat near the police station when an “organised” angry mob surrounded their vehicles.
