News Analysis |
Indian singer Daler Mehdi was sentenced to two years imprisonment after being charged with accusations of human trafficking. In the court case on Friday, it was discovered that singer and his brother illegally smuggled at least 10 people to the United States in 1989 and 1990 disguised as dancers in his troupe.
The investigations discovered that Mehdi brothers took ‘passage money’ from 15 people promising to take them to North America in search of the job. The court in the Northern state of Patiala sentenced him to two years in jail but freed him on bail as he seeks to challenge the conviction in an appeal court.
According to the prosecutor, Mehdi took money from people offering to take them to North America in 1990’s as performers, where they can stay afterward in Canada and America to seek employment.
Police initially filed a complaint as a number of people accused the brothers of cheating and fraud. The allegations surfaced in 2003 as complainants in their statement claimed that brothers took money from them but did not take them to North America.
Read more: ‘Pakistan is ready for change’: Verna star Mahira Khan
Mehdi, however, maintained that his brother was the main accused in the case and he died last year. The Press Trust of India stated that the Mehdis’ took two dance troupes to the United States of America in 1989 and 1990 and dropped 13 people there illegally.
In 2006, Patiala police filed two discharge petitions stating Daler Mehdi to be innocent but court overlooked the petitions. “It has been 14 years since a case was lodged against my brother, who passed away last year. As of now, I have been granted bail, but we will appeal to a higher court,” Mehdi said while talking to media.
In his Twitter statement, Mehdi expressed his sadness over the decision and stated that he will challenge the decision in the appeal court.