Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court in a rape case. Passing the order on Saturday (December 20), the court observed that the MLA did not appear before the investigating agencies despite being repeatedly issued summons and notices. Along with this, the court has also directed the concerned officials to collect details of their movable and immovable properties.
Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra is the current MLA from Sanaur assembly seat of Patiala district. An FIR was registered against him on September 1 on charges of rape, cheating and criminal intimidation based on the complaint of a woman from Zirakpur. Since then he did not participate in the investigation. According to the police, notices were sent to him several times for cooperation, but the MLA remained continuously absent. Earlier, a lookout notice had also been issued against him.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (City-1) Satnam Singh said that the MLA is still absconding. “The court has declared him a proclaimed offender. His search is on and further action will be taken as per law,” he said. According to the police, on September 2, a team of Patiala Police had reached the house of one of his relatives in Karnal, Haryana, from where the MLA absconded moments before his arrest. Police claim that he managed to escape by dodging the team.
The very next day after this incident, the Punjab government handed over the case to the Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) to search and arrest the MLA. After this, raids were conducted at many possible locations, but till now he has not been arrested.
Interestingly, despite absconding, the MLA has been active on social media and is sharing videos and messages criticizing the Punjab government. Some sources have claimed that he may leave the country, although no senior police officer has officially confirmed this.
In an online interview given to private media channels, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra claimed that he ran away because he was afraid of a fake encounter because he was standing against the AAP lobby of Delhi. Police say that he tried to run away after firing, while the MLA rejects this claim and says that he just dodged the police cleverly and no bullets were fired.
The MLA has also said that he has evidence to prove his innocence, which he will present in the court at the appropriate time. According to reports, he went to Nepal by road to avoid arrest and from there went to Australia. In a TV interview, he had said that he would return to India only after getting bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
At present, the legal noose in this case has become more stringent after he was declared a fugitive by the court. Police and investigating agencies are talking about intensifying efforts to arrest the MLA, while the matter remains a topic of constant discussion in the politics of the state.
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