Indian singer Daler Mehndi jailed for trafficking migrants

A court in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Thursday sent popular pop star Daler Mehndi to jail, rejecting his appeal against a two-year prison term for trafficking migrants to the US.

The singer had been out on bail since his conviction in the case in 2018, reports UNB.

"The singer was taken into custody by police soon after the court turned down his appeal against the sentence and cancelled his bail bond. He has to undergo the prison term now," TS Bhargav, a lawyer, told the local media.

The case was filed by Punjab Police way back in 2003 after a probe revealed that Mehndi took some 10 migrants, disguised as dancers in his troupe, to the US and returned without them.

Subsequently, the singer was also booked and charge-sheeted for cheating after many people lodged complaints alleging that he took large sums of money on the pretext of taking them to Western countries.

The 54-year-old singer helped popularise Punjabi dance Bhangra worldwide in the late 1990s and early 2000. He also sang in several Bollywood flicks, and is best known for his dance, voice, turban, and long robes.