Pathanmajra still absconding: Switches off cellphones, may have fled to UP, say cops
Police sources said that Pathanmajra has switched off his mobile phones and is not accessing the internet. This has made it difficult to track his whereabouts through mobile tower locations.
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Harmit Singh Pathanmajra. (File)Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra Thursday continued to evade the Punjab Police for the third consecutive day after he fled from their custody in Haryana on September 2 following a short-lived arrest.
Sources in the Punjab Police admitted that the raid in Haryana to arrest Pathanmajra was ill-timed. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer said had the police not been “put under pressure” to arrest the MLA immediately, the entire affair would have been a routine one. “It was an ill-timed directive, given that he was in Haryana at the time of arrest and also that the team sent to nab him was overwhelmed by the supporters of his relative. Though Haryana Police gave adequate support, it would have been better had he been in Punjab at the time of arrest,” the officer said.
Police sources said that Pathanmajra has switched off his mobile phones and is not accessing the internet. This has made it difficult to track his whereabouts through mobile tower locations. The CCTV footage scanned by the Punjab Police on roads leading away from Dabri village in Karnal provided a few leads but these have not culminated in anything worthwhile as the MLA changed multiple vehicles while escaping. He is also not staying at one location for more than a day and at times he has changed locations multiple times during the same day.
“The possibility of the MLA getting tipped off in advance about the impending arrest cannot be ruled out. The fact that he has managed to evade police for three days means he has had time to plan his escape,” an official said. The Anti Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has been tasked to locate the MLA and re-arrest him as soon as possible.
The likelihood of Pathanmajra having escaped to Uttar Pradesh or Delhi is not being ruled out. Questioning of his aides and associates is being carried out in Patiala following a large number of them, reported to be 14, being detained by the Punjab Police. “He is definitely being helped by people who are providing him shelter and the means of putting out video messages,” a police official said.
The timing of the move to arrest Pathanmajra has fuelled speculation of political vendetta. Pathanmajra had publicly criticised the Delhi leadership of AAP besides highlighting mishandling of flood relief efforts in his constituency following heavy rain in late August 2025. He specifically targeted Principal Secretary (Water Resources) Krishan Kumar for failing to desilt the Tangri and Ghaggar rivers, despite repeated appeals in the Punjab Assembly and personal meetings.
Pathanmajra also accused a “Delhi lobby” within the AAP of destabilising Punjab’s governance. On August 31, his security cover was abruptly withdrawn, and all station house officers (SHOs) and police post heads in Sanaur were transferred, moves he described as retaliatory.
On September 2, a Punjab Police team, including two SHOs and the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in-charge from Patiala, raided the home of Pathanmajra’s relative, Gurnam Singh Laddi (a member of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee), in Dabri village, Karnal. Pathanmajra had taken shelter there the previous day. Accounts of the events vary, but police sources report that the team initially apprehended him. However, chaos ensued as villagers and supporters allegedly threw stones and fired gunshots into the air, creating a diversion.
Pathanmajra and his aides reportedly escaped in a white SUV (a Scorpio or Fortuner), with one vehicle later recovered containing three weapons and its driver arrested. During the escape, an SUV allegedly ran over the foot of a policeman and additional charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were filed against Pathanmajra, Laddi, and others for obstructing public servants, causing hurt, and resistance to apprehension.
Pathanmajra, in a Facebook Live session just before the raid, announced the impending arrest and denounced it as a ploy to silence his criticism. He urged fellow AAP MLAs to unite against “external forces” and emphasised his commitment to Punjab’s interests. Later that day, from an undisclosed location, he released videos denying any involvement in the firing or confrontation, claiming he fled after learning of a planned “fake encounter” to kill him.
He alleged that 400-500 police personnel, including 8-10 Superintendents of Police (SPs), over five Deputy SPs (DSPs), and multiple SHOs, were deployed to portray him as a “gangster,” and accused the operation of being directed by Delhi-based AAP leaders rather than state authorities.
Haryana’s Karnal Superintendent of Police, Ganga Ram Punia, confirmed an FIR against the group but noted that local police were informed only after escalation. AAP spokesperson Baltej Pannu countered that Pathanmajra was aware of the case and began criticising the government only after learning of imminent action, dismissing his accusations as a diversion.
Pathanmajra is the fourth AAP MLA in Punjab to face arrest after the party’s 2022 victory, following corruption cases against Vijay Singla, Amit Rattan Kotfatta, and Raman Arora. The evasion has intensified scrutiny on AAP’s internal dynamics, with Pathanmajra’s defiance potentially signalling broader dissent against the Mann government’s handling of criticism and crises like the floods.
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