Even as the police continued to look for him, singer Daler Mehndi appeared on NDTV and pleaded innocence in the case of illegal human trafficking against him.
He also withdrew his allegation that the Punjab Police had demanded a bribe to delete his name from the case and appealed that names of celebrities should not be dragged into criminal cases without adequate proof of their involvement.
The police have denied the bribery allegation and registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Daler Mehndi and are on the lookout for him.
They have arrested his elder brother and co-accused Shamsher Mehndi and reportedly recovered documents implicating Daler in the human trafficking case.
All airports in the country have been alerted to prevent Daler Mehndi from fleeing the country following raids on his farmhouse and office in Delhi on Tuesday. Punjab police chief A A Siddiqui has given his consent for issuing the notices.
On Monday, the singer had unsuccessfully applied for anticipatory bail in a Delhi court with Judge A K Mendiratta ruling that his custodial interrogation was necessary.