By: Express News ServiceUpdated: November 8, 2025 05:58 PM IST 3 min readView of house number 50 in Sector 2 Chandigarh next to Punjab CM's official residence. (Express Photo)AAP MLA from Sanour, Harmit Singh Pathanmajra, who has been on the run for over two months after being booked in a rape and cheating case, has reportedly fled India. In an interview with a TV channel, Pathanmajra claimed he was in Australia, has been “framed” and he will “return home once granted bail”.Pathanmajra, a first-time legislator from Sanour in Patiala district, was booked under sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. On September 1. A woman from Zirakpur had accused him of sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marriage, alleging that he had concealed his first marriage.The police had sent a team to arrest him from Haryana’s Karnal in early September, but the MLA managed to escape amid stone-pelting and firing allegedly by his supporters. The Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has been trying to trace him since then.A local court in Patiala has already rejected his anticipatory bail plea and issued a proclamation notice, directing him to appear on November 12. The notice was pasted outside his government accommodation last week. If he fails to appear, he could be declared a proclaimed offender, paving the way for attachment of his properties.Even though the MLA has been active on social media and has even given TV interviews, the Patiala police have failed to arrest him for over two months now.In his TV interview from Australia, Pathanmajra said he was not absconding but had gone abroad “for a few weeks” to “protect his life” and denied all allegations. “This case is a political conspiracy. I will return once I get bail. I have full faith in the judiciary,” he said.The MLA had targeted his own party’s leadership, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi unit of interference in Punjab affairs. “The Delhi leadership is controlling Punjab ministers like puppets. Anyone who raises their voice for Punjab’s interests is silenced. I spoke about mismanagement during the floods, and soon after that, cases started coming up against me,” Pathanmajra said in an earlier statement after being booked.Story continues below this adHe had been vocal against his government’s handling of flood prevention measures and had alleged that local decisions were being dictated by the party’s central leadership in Delhi.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:AAP