Indo-Canadian concert promoters fear a backlash as police investigate Indian pop star Daler Mehndi. They say Mehndi is part of a racket bringing in illegal migrants to Canada disguised as musicians, singers and dancers. Mehndi says he is innocent

By Asian Pacific News Service

The locals call them 'kabootars' or pigeons.

On the visa forms at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, they claim to be dancers, singers or musicians.

Daler Mehndi

But what they really are desperate Indian nationals, who pay up to Rs 10 to 15 lakh (C$33,000 to C$50,000) to concert producers and movie stars, to sneak them into Canada.

In an unravelling scandal involving some of Bollywood's top singers and movie stars, more than 50 people have come forward to authorities to say they have been cheated of tens of thousands of dollars that they had paid for their illegal passage from India.

That number, Indian police and concert promoters say is just the tip of the iceberg as investigators seek the help of diplomatic missions in New Delhi, including the Canadian High Commission to probe the so called "flight of the pigeons".

The human trafficking investigation has sparked fears of "more rules" among Indo-Canadian concert promoters, all of whom acknowledge that they have heard of the "pigeon" scams.

The scandal broke open earlier this month with police in Patiala, Punjab accusing one of India's hottest pop stars, Daler Mehndi and his brother Shamsher Mehndi of using their international shows in Canada and the U.S. as a cover for an illegal immigration racket.

Mehndi, a spokesman for Coca-Cola in India who has millions of fans worldwide was reportedly hiding from police teams hunting for him in Punjab after they raided the millionaire singer's farmhouses and flats.

His brother Shamsher Mehndi is in custody after police seized what they have termed as incriminating documents, includes copies of visa applications and passports, computer records.

Raveena Tandon

Others named by Indian police as having connections to the scandal include Bollywood starlets Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon.

"We have been able to establish the connivance of Karisma and Raveena," Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Param Raj Singh Umarnangal told Indian media, adding he is seeking assistance from the U.S. and Canadian diplomatic missions on the travels of the two stars.

The names of other prominent Bollywood personalities like Govinda, Suneil Shetty, Pooja Batra and Nirmal Pandey have also cropped up in the investigation.

The Asian Pacific Post has learned that one of the shows which may have been used to smuggle Indian nationals to Canada was held at the Pacific Coliseum on April 4, 1999 in conjuction with the 300th anniversary of the Sikh Khalsa movement.

Mehndi who blends traditional Punjabi sounds with techno and reggae influences, was joined on the stage in Vancouver by Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon for the show which attracted thousands.

Mehndi's brother Shamsher, who is now in custody of Patiala police, in an interview with an Indian paper after his arrest allegedly said that movie starlets Raveena and Karisma Kapoor would regularly get commissions for sending youth to various countries as a part of the Mehndi troupe.

"Raveena and Karisma were part of a 70-member troupe that went to the US and Canada. Around 5-7 girls were left behind there on the pretext of seeing their families. Raveena and Karisma knew about it and they also got some percentage of the commission." he was quoted as saying.

Shamsher has allegedly admitted to Indian police that his agents and partners used to take Rs five to 15 lakh (C$16,000 to C$50,000) from youngsters and divide the money among themselves.

He claimed he only got 10 to 15 percent of the amount.

The initial investigation against the Mehndi brothers came to light when one Bakhshish Singh, a resident of Belwara, Punjab alleged he had paid Rs 13 lakh (C$43,000) to Shamsher out of the total demanded sum of Rs 15 lakh (C$50,000) to be taken to Canada as part of a concert group.

Pooja Batra

Police arrested Shamsher near the Punjabi University campus at Patiala when he was on his way to receiving the "final" installment of Rs 2 lakh (C$6,700) from Bakhshish Singh.

The complainant in court documents alleged that he sought the help of the Mehndi brothers and two others for getting him visa to go to Canada.

"They demanded Rs 15 lakh to arrange the visa...the deal was settled for Rs 12 lakh... and Rs 2 lakh were to be paid in advance and Rs 10 lakh after getting the visa," he said.

"Following this, I talked to Daler Mehndi on telephone. He informed me that the visa has been arranged and assured me of supplying a photocopy of the same as proof," the complaint said, adding that he got copies of his travel documents on July 4, 2003.

This week, a court in the northern Punjab state of Patiala issued an arrest warrant for Daler Mehndi to allow police to question him about the alleged immigration scam.

"I am innocent and will be found innocent," Mehndi told New Delhi Television News in an interview conducted as police were searching for the singer, the station said.

"I was busy with my work, and not on the run," Mehndi told the TV station, asserting that celebrities in India should not be dragged into controversies without proof.

Instead of harassing him, Mehndi said, the Punjabi government should give him an award for making Punjabi songs popular.

Mehndi said last week he had disowned his brother Shamsher four years ago and had no business dealings with him. He has also accused police of trying to coerce millions of rupees from him to drop the case - a charge Indian police have described as "rubbish".

One of Daler Mehndi's North American agents is entrepreneur Rakesh Kaushal who maintains a base in Toronto.

Kaushal, popularly known as Rocky, runs an entertainment company called Balaji Management. Indian police and news reports claim that Kaushal is also a key player in the immigration scam.

Kaushal said he was shocked to read reports saying he was "absconding".

He claimed he spoke to Indian police the day they raided his Mumbai flat, which he had rented to Daler Mehndi.

"I called my house and my maid said that the police were examining all my things. I spoke to them and they seemed satisfied with my replies," he said, adding he has nothing to hide.

Karisma Kapoor

"I have all the records to show that the people who came with my show went back to India. I have done shows with Daler Mehndi and Raveena Tandon, Daler and Shilpa Shetty and Daler and Karishma Kapoor. He has come to the US and Canada four times 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 - under my company."

Kaushal also said that Daler's brother Shamsher, was part of the group but he was arrested in New York and deported to India.

"I have no connection with Shamsher," he said, before disconnecting his phone number.

Kamal Sharma, the Vancouver-based promoter who was involved in bringing Daler Mehndi and other stars to Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum in 1999 told The Asian Pacific Post said he is surprised that the Indian mega-star has been dragged into this mess.

"His brother, Shamsher is a very shady character. Daler Mehndi....I am absolutely surprised. Shamsher was in fact deported back from USA for his dealings, from New York," he said.

Sharma said he dealt with the Toronto-based Kaushal when organising the Vancouver concert and described the agent as "being very clear" and "genuine".

"When we do shows we negotiate a deal with the international promoter who handles all the travel arrangements. We set up the local venue, meet the artists at the airport, take care of their hotel reservations, and food, and of course take them to the show itself. Otherwise we have no contact with the performers," Sharma said.

Pinky Basrao, another Vancouver-based promoter who has brought many Indian film and music stars to Canada in recent months said the immigration scandal is bad for his industry.

"Professional people don't do these kinds of things...it is very bad for the promoters who are doing an honest job," he said.

"They [international promoters] just give us a list of the performers who are coming.... We don't know if they are the right people or the wrong people...It is the promoter's responsibility. If they say they have seven singers then we have to accept that," he said.

Basrao believes the immigration and visa process is going to be severely impacted making it "hard for those who are doing a good job to bring people into Canada."

Ivy Lerner-Frank, first secretary to the Canadian High Commission in Delhi, said over 33,000 visas have been issued for Canada this year. She had no estimate of how many of those who have gone to Canada have become illegal immigrants.

Kimberly Phillips of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "This is an issue for citizenship and immigration Canada, they would be handling this."

Susan Scarlett of Citizenship and Immigration Canada said she had no information on the case to provide to the Asian Pacific Post.

Indian media meawhile have reported that while the so-called pigeon scams have been going on for a long time, cases are rarely brought to the attention of local police.

In B.C., there have been two cases that have been brought to the attention of the authorities.

The first involves Surrey concert promoter Maninder Singh Gill who was charged in 2001 India with defrauding a farmer of Rs 6 lakh (C$20,000)

Gill has denied the charges and neither Canada Immigration officials nor the RCMP have alleged any wrongdoing by him

In another case also in 2001, Herb Dhaliwal, a Liberal goverment cabinet minister was penalized after three Sikh religious leaders failed to return to India after arriving in B.C. on special permits.

Dhaliwal, personally vouched for the three so they could attend a parade in Vancouver.