High Court stays imprisonment of Daler Mehndi in human trafficking case

Daler Mehndi was lodged in the Central Jail in Patiala. Police had registered a case against the singer Daler Mehndi, his brother Shamsher Singh -- who died in October 2017 -- and two others, after it was alleged that the accused took money from people to the tune of Rs 1 crore on the pretext of taking them abroad.

In a relief to singer Daler Mehndi, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday granted stay to the decision of a Patiala Court that had sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a 2003 human trafficking case.

He was lodged in the Central Jail in Patiala.

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The artist was imprisoned after being given a two-year prison term on July 14 for illegally transporting people abroad while they were acting as members of his band.

Police had registered a case against the singer, his brother Shamsher Singh -- who died in October 2017 -- and two others, after it was alleged that the accused took money from people to the tune of Rs 1 crore on the pretext of taking them abroad.

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Complainant, Bakhshish Singh, alleged that the deal never matured and the accused failed to return the money.

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The case was registered in 2003 in Patiala. Daler Mehndi was subsequently arrested but released on bail after a few days.

Daler 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 bars before being released on bail.

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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.

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