Chandigarh/New Delhi: Punjab Police has booked Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently switched from AAP to the BJP with six others, sources said on Saturday.
Two FIRs have been lodged against Pathak under non-bailable sections, they said.
No further details about the FIRs have been disclosed yet.
The development follows a major shift in the Upper House, where Pathak was among seven MPs who left AAP and joined the BJP. Reports suggest that the FIRs could lead to possible arrest, with heightened security seen outside his official residence in New Delhi.
He apparently saw leaving his residence, exiting through the back door, getting into a car, and driving away. As per sources to NDTV, he had moved to an undisclosed location and was not reachable.
Meanwhile, sources indicated that the BJP’s legal team is preparing to assist Pathak in seeking relief.
When asked about the development, Pathak, in a telephonic conversation with news agency ANI, stated, “I have no idea of any FIR against me.”
The timing of the action has drawn sharp criticism from several parties. Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma alleged that the FIRs reflect ‘political vendetta’ and accused AAP of using the police to silence the opposition.
In a post on X, Sharma said, “There is no law in Punjab; now, political vendetta is in effect. Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal’s fear exposed. The fact that a non-bailable FIR was registered against Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak ji in Punjab as soon as he left AAP and joined BJP clearly shows that Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann are using the police as a political weapon.”
“This is not just one case–this is the politics of fear, panic and vendetta. Police were used to silence opposing voices earlier, too–the same is being repeated today. Non-bailable clauses, threats of immediate action are a shameful act of implementing a political agenda under the guise of law,” he added.
Akali Dal General Secretary Bikram Singh Majithia questioned why action was initiated only after Pathak departed from AAP.
On X, he wrote, “Hero to Zero…Selective targeting of those who fall out with Aam Aadmi Party. Sandeep Pathak was once a trusted aide of Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal, a key power centre. If he was wrong, then he was following his bosses, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Then, who was in collusion with him, and why are they not being booked now? After shifting loyalties, FIRs under non-bailable sections point to possible vendetta politics. From influence to investigation, the shift raises serious questions.”
Pathak’s exit was part of a broader political shift announced on April 24, when several AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal and Vikramjit Sahney,
