- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
AN INDIAN singer who was deported from the UK more than eight years ago is set to return to the country to headline a music event later this year.
Punjabi singing sensation Garry Sandhu is set to return to Birmingham to take part in Bhangra extravaganza E3UK Live at Arena Birmingham on November 2.
Sandhu, who arrived in Birmingham in 2002, was booted out of the city for violating immigration laws in 2012. Deporting him, a UK Border Agency spokesperson said: “This man tried to evade our officers by adopting an alias and absconding. But his arrest and removal should send a message to all immigration offenders.”
Sandhu worked in local sweatshops following his arrival in Birmingham, and had applied for asylum. However, his application was refused and he slipped off the radar until picked up for a minor motoring offence in 2008.
He went missing once again, but was eventually sent back to India in January 2012.
Sandhu had already become a star when he was removed from the UK, having released his debut single Main Nee Peenda in 2010. The next year saw him collect the Best Male Act gong at the Brit Asia Awards.
Announcing his removal from the UK, Sandhu wrote on Facebook: “Wherever I go in the world, I will still appreciate the love and support you all give me. Will never forget you.
“To my haters, you will never stop me making music wherever I am in the world.”
Sandhu found success in India as well, but he considers the UK his musical birthplace.
“I am moulded by my past and although I cannot change things, I have learned a great deal over the last 10 years,” he was quoted as saying. “I deeply regret and am remorseful for my past actions, when it comes to my immigration history in the UK.
“Staying within the remit and boundaries of the law is something every upstanding citizen should do.
“I am grateful to all my fans and the UK Immigration services and Home Office for allowing me the opportunity to return back to the UK.
“My life stopped here eight years ago, but now destiny has brought me back. England was my musical birthplace, my identity and my home.
“I achieved so much in the last eight years, and travelled the world, but my life felt incomplete.
“Today my biggest dream has come true as I feel I have come back home.”
