Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhoota?

Popstar Daler Mehndi will appear before court on January 31. Aah!

Michael Jackson has been accused of paedophilia. His fans don't believe that a great singer-songwriter like him can indulge in criminal activity.

Fans, we know, are not known for believing anything but the one they are fans of. The fan at home believes in only me.
Try switching it on, it doesn't move. It trusts me to give it a twirl with a pencil. It responds. The pencil has never been used to do what it's been made to do. It's made to do what it does. But this is not about the pencil. This is not about the fan either. This is about a singer I am not a fan of. This is not about Michael Jackson.

This is about Daler Mehndi, who gave us catchy phrases like Dardi Rab Rab Kardi (I'm scared, God!) and Bolo Tara Ra Ra Ra (Say Tara, Ra Ra). This is about the man who helped us learn a new word: kabootarbaazi which doesn't mean flying pigeons, but sending people abroad illegally.

He was accused of helping people migrate illegally. People filed FIRs against him for not honouring the deals — taking lakhs of rupees but not taking them abroad as part of his dance troupe. Police said many had gone with him as members of his bhangra party and never came back.

We believed the police. When he came to appear before the Patiala police, protesters threw eggs at him. Daler said police stripped and beat him. Police said he was lying. We believed the police. Daler jumped bail. He was absconding with the Punjab police after his life, wife and family.

Newspapers and News channels revealed more and more victims of Daler Mehndi's immigration racket. The kabootars (pigeons) were singing on TV channels. We believed the kabootars.

Daler Mehndi, from his hideouts, cried the police was framing him. He said senior Patiala cops were trying to extort money from him. We did not believe him. He was a bloody kabootarbaz (immigration racketeer). As a singer, he was past. A singer, who was definitely past his prime, was pleading innocence. Big Deal. We wanted the police to bring him to book. Law must take its own course.

A month and a half later, police says he is innocent. That there was no evidence. Newspapers say the crowds that protested against him were sponsored by Patiala police. The eggs they threw at Daler were not the only thing the police had given them. The crowds were given omelettes to eat.

The kabootars are not visible. Punjab Police is now investigating the police officers who "framed" Daler. Should we believe the police? Or should we believe Daler.

Was Daler charged for he didn't pay the bribe? Or was he declared innocent because he paid up? Do we believe in God? Should we believe in the government?