Punjab AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who is on the run after he was booked in a rape case, rejected police claims of being involved in opening fire at the cops and said that he fled due to the fear of fake encounter.
Punjab AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who is on the run after he was booked in a rape case, rejected police claims of being involved in opening fire at the cops who attempted to arrest him in Haryana’s Karnal and said that he fled due to the fear of “fake encounter”. Punjab’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has launched a massive hunt for the AAP MLA who dramatically surfaced in a video from an undisclosed location on Wednesday.
In the video, the first-time legislator from Sanour alleged that his life was in danger. “My sources in police told me that my staged police encounter was planned. Eight SPs, eight DSPs, five SHOs and encounter specialist Bikram Brar among hundreds of cops arrived to nab one MLA. I respect police but I am disappointed over false police claims,” he said, painting the police action as a conspiracy against him.
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Patiala range DIG Kuldeep Chahal confirmed that Pathanmajra remains on the run, with multiple teams dispatched to track him down. “Patiala SSP can be reached for more details,” he said, pointedly refusing to respond to the MLA’s explosive accusations.
Patiala CIA in-charge Pardeep Bajwa earlier said, “We raided the residence of Pathanmajra’s relative in Haryana. He was arrested. But a group of villagers and some miscreants pelted stones at the police team and fired gunshots.” SI Sri Bhagwan of Karnal Sadar police station flatly denied this, and said, “The Patiala police team didn’t inform us about its raids in Dabri. We conducted an investigation and found that no firing or stone pelting occurred. There was no confrontation between villagers and police. A case has been registered on the complaint of Patiala Civil Lines SHO but there are no charges like attempt to murder.”
Pathanmajra’s aide Balwinder Singh was arrested on Tuesday, and three pistols were recovered from his possession.
The AAP MLA faces allegations of sexual exploitation, fraud, and intimidation, with the complainant accusing him of a sham marriage and sustained threats. An FIR was earlier lodged at Patiala Civil Lines police station.
Before his dramatic escape, Pathanmajra had gone live on Facebook, alleging that the FIR and withdrawal of his security cover were orchestrated by the Delhi AAP leadership in retaliation for his scathing criticism of the government’s flood management.