Patiala, March 29 A court here on Sunday extended the police remand of AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra by seven days. Pathanmajra, who was arrested by the Punjab Police from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday night, had escaped police custody in a rape case more than six months ago.
The MLA from the Sanour constituency was produced before the court after his four-day police remand ended.
During the hearing, the police sought a 10-day extension, stating that further custodial interrogation was necessary to advance the investigation.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted a seven-day extension, observing that this period would be sufficient for the current stage of the investigation.
While officials refrained from sharing specific details of the ongoing investigation with the media, they maintained that the extended remand would help them verify several aspects related to the case.
Investigators intend to question Pathanmajra about his activities during the period he remained at large and examine other material evidence related to the allegations, according to police sources.
On Wednesday, officials said that Pathanmajra, a first-time MLA from Sanour in Patiala, was apprehended along with his three associates from the outskirts of the Gwalior area late Tuesday night.
Amid tight security, Pathanmajra was then produced before a court in Patiala, which had sent him on a four-day police remand.
On September 1, 2025, the police registered a case against Pathanmajra at the Civil Lines police station here on charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation, based on a complaint by a woman from Zirakpur, who alleged that the MLA misrepresented himself as a divorced man, entered into a relationship with her, and got married in 2021 while already being married. She accused him of continued sexual exploitation and threats.
He had been absconding since September 2 in the rape case after escaping from police custody when the Punjab police went to Haryana's Karnal to arrest him. The Patiala police had even issued a look-out notice against the AAP MLA.
After he escaped police custody, Pathanmajra appeared in a video interview with an Australia-based web Punjabi channel in late November, in which he claimed that he would "return home only after securing bail".
Denying all allegations against him, he had then termed the case a "political conspiracy" to silence voices that speak for Punjab's people.