Chandigarh, March 25: The Punjab Police arrested the accused in a rape case and the fugitive Punjab MLA, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, on Wednesday. Pathanmajra had dramatically escaped from police custody in September last and has been evading arrest since then.
This is the second arrest of an AAP legislator this week. Earlier, former Transport Minister Laljit Bhullar was arrested on Monday in connection with a case of abetting suicide of a government official.
Earlier, the trial court in Patiala dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Pathanmajra for the second consecutive time on October 9, 2025. Pathanmajra had been on the run after being booked in a rape case on September 2, 2025.
The police registered a case against the first-time legislator from Sanaur on September 1, 2025, on charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation. The 50-year-old legislator had fled from his relative's house in Dabri village in Karnal on September 2, 2025, shortly after a Punjab Police team arrived to arrest him in connection with a rape case.
Pathanmajra has denied the police's claims that bullets were fired at the police officers who had come to arrest him.
In two video messages released from an undisclosed location, Pathanmajra criticized AAP's central leadership, alleging that he was being targeted by the "Delhi lobby" and had to flee after learning that he would be killed in a "fake encounter".
He also criticized his own government over the handling of floods in Patiala. He accused senior officials of the Irrigation Department, including a senior IAS officer, of ignoring repeated requests to desilt rivers to prevent flooding in villages.
Earlier, the state police had booked 15 aides of the absconding MLA for "harbouring" him. The Haryana Police have also registered a case against the AAP legislator and his relative, Gurnam Singh Laadi, for obstruction of discharge from official duty, escape from custody, and other charges.
Residents of Dabri village in Karnal alleged that 14 members of Laadi's family were "picked up" by Punjab Police teams in connection with the case.