NEW DELHI: A court in Patiala convicted on Friday pop singer Daler Mehndi and sentenced him to two years in prison for his involvement in a human trafficking case dating back to 2003.

The Punjabi singer was however granted bail.

According to media reports, Daler Mehndi, his brother Shamsher and others had been accused of illegally sending people abroad by disguising them as members of his troupe.

In return, the complainants alleged that the accused took Rs10 million from them, and even failed to return the money when the deal never matured.

Reports further claimed that the Mehndi brothers had taken two troupes in 1998 and 1999 to the US and illegally “dropped off” about 10 people there.

Bakhshish Singh of Balbhera village of Patiala district was the main complainant in the case registered in 2003 at Patiala Sadar police station.

Daler Mehndi was arrested after registration of the case and released on bail a few days later.

After police registered a case against him, about 35 people reportedly accused him of fraud. They said he had taken money from them for taking them abroad but had failed to do so. The singer said he would appeal against the conviction in a higher court.

He sang in several Bollywood films but he is best known for his music videos in bhangra pop, a bouncy electronic genre inspired by the traditional dance tunes of Punjab.

His debut album sold over 20 million copies. He has given stage performances in about 18 countries, including the UK, US and Singapore.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2018