Fugitive Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, representing Sanaur in Punjab’s Patiala district, claimed on Wednesday that he narrowly escaped a “staged encounter” attempt by police. Pathanmajra fled from his relative’s house in Dabri village of Karnal, Haryana, on Tuesday evening, minutes after a Punjab police team reached the spot to arrest him in a rape case.

In two video messages released from undisclosed locations, the MLA insisted he did not clash with police or fire shots during the escape. Instead, he alleged that officers fired at the vehicle he was seated in, forcing him to slip out through another exit. “I was informed beforehand that I would be killed in a fake encounter. That is why I left the place to save my life,” he claimed.

The Sanaur MLA again targeted senior leaders within his own party, accusing “external forces” of trying to destabilise Punjab politics. He alleged that some AAP leaders from Delhi were behind a larger conspiracy to silence him. “I appeal to fellow AAP MLAs and ministers to stand up against this plot,” Pathanmajra said.

Pathanmajra faces serious charges of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation. The case, formally registered in Punjab on Monday, stems from a complaint filed in 2022 by a woman from Zirakpur in Patiala district. She accused the MLA of luring her into a relationship under the false pretext that he was divorced in 2021, despite still being married. The complainant further alleged sexual exploitation, repeated threats, and receiving “obscene” content from him.

Notably, the police move against the legislator came just a day after his official security was withdrawn. The timing has raised eyebrows, as the action also followed Pathanmajra’s criticism of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government on Sunday, when he accused the administration of poor preparedness in tackling Punjab’s flood situation.