Daler Mehndi sentenced to jail in human trafficking case
New Delhi: Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi was on Friday convicted in a 2003 human trafficking case by a court in Patiala. He was sentenced to two years in jail and was later granted bail.
“I have been granted bail. We will appeal in higher court,” the singer said.
The Patiala police had booked Daler Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Mehndi — who died last year — on a complaint filed by one Bakshish Singh. Around 35 more complaints, levelling charges of fraud against the brothers, came up later.
The complainants had alleged that the Mehandi brothers had taken ‘passage money’ from them to help them migrate to the US illegally, but failed to do so.
It was also alleged that Mehndi brothers had taken two troupes in 1998 and 1999 during which 10 people were taken to the US as group members and were “dropped off” illegally.
Patiala Police had even raided the offices of Daler Mehndi at Connaught Place in New Delhi and seized documents, including the case file of those who had paid the alleged “passage money” to Mehndi brothers.
In 2006, Patiala Police filed two discharge petitions stating Daler Mehndi to be innocent, but the court had upheld that the singer be prosecuted as there was “sufficient evidence against him on the judicial file and scope for further investigation”.
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Kerala: Seven-year-old dies after window frame falls on him
Pathanamthitta (Kerala) (PTI): A seven-year-old boy died after a window frame fell on him at his residence here on Sunday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Drupath, son of Thanoj Kumar, a resident of Ezhamkulam near Adoor.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred around 9 am when a window frame that had been leaning against a wall toppled.
Police said the boy was climbing on the window rods when the frame suddenly fell on him.
He was first rushed to a nearby hospital and later shifted to a health facility, where he succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
Police have registered a case of unnatural death and launched an investigation.
