Punjabi Singer Daler Mehndi was arrested on Thursday for a 2003 human trafficking case. Bakshish Singh, a Balbera village resident, filed the complaint against the pop singer. He said that the singer charged him 13 lakhs to send him to Canada in 2003.

The Mehndi brothers allegedly promised to take the complainants overseas illegally in exchange for money, and after the police filed his complaint, they received 35 more.

Also Read| Daler Mehndi sentenced: All about the 2003 human trafficking case

Singh, 42, told The Hindustan Times-“Filing a case against Daler Mehndi proved very costly to me. It took 15 years of my prime age. The accused duped me of Rs 12 lakh and I have spent nearly Rs 30 lakh from my pocket to pursue the case. It took almost half of my family’s wealth.’

He added -“Everyone knows that Mehndi is influential. He threatened me and tried to win over me, but I refused to withdraw the case. I had to hire private lawyers and spend a lot of money to fight the case. But at last, the truth emerged as victorious.”

Also Read| Daler Mehndi top songs: From ‘Tunak Tunak’ to ‘Bol Ta Ra Ra’

When Bakshish filed the complaint, he stated that Mehndi was the biggest name in the singing industry. “Police were not listening to me, and I had to approach higher officials, who lodged the FIR, after finding that I had enough evidence. However, Mehndi manipulated things again in 2005 and police declared him innocent.”

Mehndi was convicted under sections 406, 420, 120B, 465, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian Passport Act after filing a FIR at the Sadar Patiala police station in 2003.

Also Read| Daler Mehndi sentenced: Punjabi singer’s age, net worth, family, Instagram and more

Both brothers were found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison by the Judicial Magistrate First Class court in 2018. They were granted bail and later appealed to the sessions court.

Additional Sessions Judge HS Grewal denied his bail application today, and he was arrested.