The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, October 14, 2003, Chandigarh, India

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Daler’s bail plea rejected
Passports seized from Shamsher’s house
Tribune Reporters

Senior police officers show passports belonging to some of the complainants recovered during a raid from the house of Shamsher Mehandi, brother of noted singer Daler Mehandi, in New Delhi on Monday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

New Delhi, October 13
A Delhi court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of pop singer Daler Mehndi in connection with a case registered by the Punjab police against him for human trafficking.

Dismissing his application for the anticipatory bail, Additional Sessions Judge A.K. Mehndiratta said the “custodial interrogation” of the accused was necessary in the case pertaining to “the illegal trafficking” of people abroad.

The judge said after perusal of the FIR in the case, prima facie an impression had been gathered that certain serious allegations had been levelled against Daler Mehndi.

“The allegations cannot be said to be malafide... and therefore, his custodial interrogation is necessary,” the judge observed.

Daler Mehndi had sought protection against his arrest in the case at least for two weeks enabling him to move the court of competent jurisdiction in Punjab.

His counsel, however, claimed that there was no specific allegation against Daler Mehndi in the FIR and he could not be implicated in the case on the basis of a statement of an accused arrested by the Punjab police, who incidentally was his brother.

The Punjab police had arrested Daler’s brother Shamsher Singh recently on the charges of trafficking of people abroad by charging heavy amounts from them.

“Daler Mehndi has disowned his brother since 2001 after he had caused him a lot of trouble,” his advocate said.

The Punjab police had alleged that the accused persons had been duping migrants of their money on the promise of sending them abroad with their musical troupe.

PATIALA: The Patiala police today seized six passports of persons who had complained that Shamsher Mehndi had duped them on the promise of taking them abroad as members of his troupe, even as it is set to raid the properties of pop star Daler Mehndi .

According to police sources, the recovery was made after the police took Shamsher, who is in their custody, to his house today. They said besides this, the police was able to lay its hands on 30 photostat copies of documents relating to applications sent to various embassies. They said the name of Daljit Kaur, wife of Daler, had cropped up in some of the applications sent by Shamsher for various troupes which were to be taken abroad by him.

Meanwhile, the police again rechecked the office of Big M Entertainers, accompanied by Shamsher. Besides, a Patiala police party also went to the house of Daler’s brother Mika in Vikaspuri to question him in connection with the human trafficking case registered against his brother Shamsher in which Daler has also been named. The sources said Mika and his family members were not present in the house when the police party went there.

The sources said with the rejection of the interim bail application of Daler Mehndi by the Tis Hazari court, way had been cleared for the questioning of the pop star in the case. The sources said as a first step in this regard, a police party from Patiala was expected to conduct a check on the premises of both Daler’s office and his house in Greater Kailash.

Meanwhile, a local court today issued a notice to the state for October 15 regarding an anticipatory bail application filed by Shamsher’s wife Balwinder Kaur. The applicant had claimed that she might be implicated in the case even though her name was not mentioned in the FIR registered against her husband. The case will now be heard on October 15 on which date the anticipatory bail of Daljit Kaur, Shamsher’s wife and case of Shamsher’s remand will also come up for hearing.Police sources said a Patiala police team broke open the locks of the house of Tejinder Laddi, who is one of the main accused in the human-trafficking case along with Shamsher, at his Tilak Nagar house late last night.

The sources said checking of the house was being done following a search warrant obtained by the police for the same. Details of any recovery, however, could not be known.