AAP MLA from Sanur, Harmeet Singh Pathanmagra, who was on the run for over two months after being booked in a rape and cheating case, has fled India. In an interview with a TV channel, Pathanmagra claimed that he was in Australia, had been “framed” and would “return home once he is released on bail”.
Pathanmagra, a first-time legislator from Sanur in Patiala district, has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. On September 1, a woman from Zirakpur accused him of sexually exploiting her under the pretext of marriage, alleging that he had concealed his first marriage.
Police had sent a team to arrest him from Karnal, Haryana, in early September, but the MLA managed to escape amidst stone-pelting and gunfire allegedly by his supporters. The Punjab Anti-Gang Task Force (AGTF) ​​has been trying to track him down ever since.
A local court in Patiala has already rejected his anticipatory bail plea and issued a show cause notice, directing him to appear on November 12. The notice was pasted outside his government residence last week. If he fails to appear, he could be declared a declared felon, paving the way for the seizure of his property.
Although the MLA is active on social media and has even given television interviews, the Patiala police failed to arrest him for more than two months.
In his television interview from Australia, Pathanmagra said he was not on the run but had traveled abroad “for a few weeks” to “protect his life” and denied all accusations. He said, “This case is a political conspiracy. I will return as soon as I get bail. I have full confidence in the judiciary.”
The MLA targeted its party’s leadership, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi unit of interference in Punjab affairs. “The Delhi leadership controls Punjab ministers like puppets. Anyone who raises his voice for the interests of Punjab is silenced. I spoke about mismanagement during the floods, and soon after that, cases started coming against me,” Pathanmagra said in an earlier statement after he was booked.
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He has been vocal against his government’s handling of flood prevention measures and alleged that local decisions are dictated by the party’s central leadership in Delhi.
(marks for translation) AAP MLA
