Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Harmeet Singh Dhillon Pathanmajra, arrested on rape and cheating charges, escaped police custody on Tuesday after allegedly firing at officers in Karnal, sources said.

The MLA, who represents Sanour in Patiala, was being taken to a local station when he and his aides opened fire, injuring one policeman, officials said. In the chaos, Pathanmajra allegedly ran a vehicle over another officer before fleeing in a Scorpio SUV with his associates. A Fortuner used in the escape was later seized. Police teams have been deployed to trace him.

Pathanmajra had been arrested after an FIR was filed by a Zirakpur-based woman, accusing him of misrepresenting himself as divorced before entering a relationship with her. She alleged he married her in 2021 while still being married, sexually exploited her, sent her obscene material, and issued threats. The FIR invokes rape, cheating and criminal intimidation charges.

The legislator, however, claimed the case was politically motivated. He went live on Facebook after the FIR, accusing the AAP’s Delhi leadership of “illegitimately ruling Punjab” and targeting him for raising his voice. “They can lodge FIRs against me, I can stay in jail, but my voice cannot be suppressed,” he said. His lawyer, advocate Simranjeet Singh Saggu, also argued that the complainant admitted in court to a live-in relationship, calling the charges baseless.

The MLA had recently clashed with his own government over the handling of floods in Patiala. He accused senior officials of ignoring repeated requests to desilt rivers like the Tangri, warning it had worsened flooding in villages. He also alleged that his security was withdrawn, and local police officers were transferred as retaliation.

Source: India Today