New Delhi: Noted Punjabi singer Sukhwinder Singh alias Panchi has been arrested by Delhi police along with two others in a fake visa and passport racket case, police said on July 26.

The three, suspected of being agents for sending people abroad on the basis of forged visas, were nabbed following information by two persons arrested at the Indira Gandhi international airport two days ago, deputy commissioner of police (IGIA) Devesh Srivastava said.

The two others arrested from a hotel in Paharganj in Central Delhi along with Sukhwinder are his secretary Punjab Singh alias Bitoo and Mangal Singh Dhillon, Srivastava said.

He said Bitoo used to lure innocent persons for illegal migration to foreign countries for money.

The racket came to light when two persons Jaskaran Singh and Devinder Singh, both from Jallandhar district of Punjab, were nabbed at the IGI Airport during the intervening night of July 24 and 25 when they were about to board an Air France flight to Paris, the DCP said.

The visas on their passports were found to be chemically washed, he said.

During their interrogation, they revealed that the agents who were sending them abroad were staying in a hotel in Paharganj, he said, adding it was raided, which resulted in the arrest of three more, including Sukhwinder.

Sukhwinder is a famous singer of Punjabi songs and his audiocassette by the name of 'Challen Mundian' has been a hit recording a sale of 7.5 lakh cassettes, Srivastava said.

PTI