Daler Mehndi in Tis Hazari court on Saturday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Dec. 20: Punjab police today took bhangra pop star Daler Mehndi into custody after a Delhi court granted it one-day transit remand to produce the singer before the trial court in Patiala tomorrow.

Daler was arrested from a friend’s house in south Delhi yesterday on charges of avoiding Punjab police, which had booked him for alleged involvement in a human trafficking case.

The singer, who sported a diamond-studded red turban and a black designer outfit, was today denied bail by chief metropolitan magistrate Reena Singh Nag.

The nearly two-hour-long hearing took place in Nag’s chamber, with the media being kept out.

Daler was produced before the chief metropolitan magistrate after Patiala police moved an application yesterday seeking to take the singer to Punjab on a transit remand.

Nag said: “In view of the gravity of the offence and the conduct of the accused, the bail application of the accused is dismissed... Arrest of the accused is allowed and he is also given in police custody to be produced before the court concerned or duty magistrate at Patiala on or before Dece-mber 21.”

The prosecution counsel said Daler had evaded custodial interrogation and had been on the run. He said there were 31 complaints against the singer, who has been accused of collecting Rs 13 lakh and passports from various people after assuring them he would take them abroad as a member of his troupe.