Absconding for 7 months in rape case, AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra arrested from MP

CHANDIGARH: AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who had been on the run for nearly seven months in connection with a rape and cheating case registered in Patiala, was arrested late Tuesday night from Madhya Pradesh, Patiala Police said. SSP Patiala Varun Sharma confirmed that Pathanmajra was in custody after being nabbed from the outskirts of Gwalior and would be produced before the competent court shortly. The arrest was made by a joint police team following a search operation involving personnel from multiple wings, including the Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and Counter-Intelligence, spanning at least seven states. Pathanmajra, a first-term MLA representing the Sanaur constituency in Patiala district, faced charges based on a complaint filed on September 1, 2025, by a Zirakpur-based woman.

The complainant alleged that Pathanmajra misrepresented himself as a divorced man, entered into a relationship with her, and performed a Gurdwara marriage ceremony in 2021 while remaining legally married to another woman. She also alleged that he sexually exploited her, coerced her with threats, and transmitted obscene material. Based on the complaint, Patiala Police registered FIR No. 173 at Civil Lines Police Station under sections related to rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation.

The manhunt began on September 2 last year, when a Patiala Police team raided the Karnal residence of a relative of Pathanmajra, who is also a member of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC). Police said the MLA, who was present at the premises, fled moments before he could be detained. Police claimed that Pathanmajra fired at them and escaped. In a subsequent video, the MLA denied this, saying he had “only hoodwinked the Patiala cops” and that no shots were fired.

He later claimed he fled fearing a staged encounter for “taking on the Delhi AAP lobby.” The Punjab government had withdrawn his security cover a day before the attempted arrest. Patiala Police also registered a separate case against 15 individuals alleged to have aided his escape. A day after the incident, the Punjab government deployed the Anti-Gangster Task Force to track down the fugitive legislator. Raids were conducted across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, but Pathanmajra evaded arrest for months.

During this period, he continued to engage with the media through video messages, reiterating claims of innocence and alleging political vendetta. Authorities vacated his official government accommodation in Patiala in January this year, after district officials directed his family to leave the Passey Road premises. In October 2025, a Patiala court rejected his anticipatory bail application, and a revised plea was dismissed in early December 2025. In December last year, a Patiala court declared Pathanmajra a proclaimed person under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), noting that a proclamation warrant had been duly served and that the mandatory 30-day compliance period had elapsed without him appearing. The court also directed authorities to compile details of his movable and immovable assets. In January this year, Pathanmajra approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking to quash the arrest warrants and proclamation proceedings, but no stay was granted.

The case caused significant damage to AAP’s image in Punjab, where the party swept to power in 2022 with a 92-seat majority on a platform of clean governance and anti-corruption. Pathanmajra, however, maintained that his prolonged absconding was due to intra-party disputes and government pressure—claims denied by both Punjab Police and AAP leadership. Pathanmajra’s counsel, Simranjit Singh Saggu, said a hearing on his bail application and challenge to the proclamation proceedings is scheduled in the Supreme Court on March 27. With his arrest confirmed, Pathanmajra is expected to be produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class in Patiala shortly.