Explained: The 2003 human trafficking case against Daler Mehndi and its many twists and turns

A district court in Patiala on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi against his two-year jail term in a 2003 human trafficking case.

Mehndi, who was convicted in 2018 and out on bail, was taken into police custody after the court of Additional Sessions Judge HS Grewal dismissed his appeal.

As per Hindustan Times, Mehndi will now be sent to Patiala jail where Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu is also lodged

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

The Patiala Police had in 2003 booked Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Mehndi (who died in 2017) and two others after complaints they took money from people on the pretext of taking them abroad.

As per NDTV, they were charged with IPC sections for human trafficking and conspiracy and the Indian Passport Act.

The complainant, Bakhshish Singh, said that the deal to take him abroad as part of their musical group and to leave him in some western country to settle never materialised and that they failed to return his money.

Singh had also said that the singer had taken money for taking him to Canada.

 

"They took ₹ 13 lakh from me. Neither did they send me abroad, nor did they return my money," Singh was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Over 30 more complaints, levelling charges of fraud against the brothers, also came up later.

The complainants had said 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 stated 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.

As per DNA, Mehndi had also “dropped off” three girls in San Francisco.

Police investigation, arrest and twist in case

The Patiala police had raided Daler Mehendi's Delhi office at Connaught Place and seized documents, including the case file of those who had paid the Mehndi brothers ‘passage money”, as per DNA.

Police officials, after investigations, stated that the singers and other performers were in a racket to illegally take youth out of Punjab to western countries by making them part of musical troupes. The youth were charged up to Rs 2 million in each case, police said.

Mehndi was subsequently arrested but shortly thereafter released on bail.

Mehndi's arrest was quite controversial at a police station in Patiala in 2003 as he was asked to strip by a few junior police officers during interrogation. He spent a few days behind lock-up 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’ mob surrounded their vehicles.

Police had moved two petitions before the court saying that Mehndi was not required in the case as he had nothing to do with the immigration fraud, called 'kabootarbaazi' -- literally flying of pigeons but referring to numerous youth in Punjab trying to use illegal means to settle abroad.

However, Singh then moved court again objecting to the singer being discharged.

 

As per NDTV, the court refused to discharge Mehndi, saying there was “sufficient evidence" for further investigation.

Mehndi was finally convicted along with his brother in March 2018. He was sentenced to two years in jail and a fine of Rs 1,000 was also imposed on him.

As per Hindustan Times, the court of judicial magistrate had held Mehndi guilty under section 420 (Cheating) and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (Conspiracy). He was granted bail after he furnished a bail bond.

As per NDTV, Mehndi’s petition for bail and a request to be released on probation was also denied by the court today.

Mehndi now has the option of moving the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

With inputs from agencies

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