MP Sandeep Pathak faces two non-bailable FIRs in Punjab days after joining BJP
Two non-bailable FIRs filed within days of defection as BJP, SAD question timing; police team reaches Delhi, PPCB raid on Trident unit adds to row
Within days after he joined the BJP, along with seven other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members, two FIRs under non-bailable sections have been lodged against Sandeep Pathak by the Punjab police in different districts of the state.
A Punjab police team arrived in Delhi on Saturday morning in connection with the case. However, sources said that Pathak had exited his residence through the rear gate before the team reached.
The development comes in the backdrop of a Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) raid conducted on April 30 at the Dhaula-based unit of Trident Group, owned by Rajinder Gupta, another MP who recently switched allegiance to the BJP.
Opposition cries vendetta
The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal came out strongly against the action, questioning the timing of the cases and alleging that the move bore signs of “political vendetta” rather than routine legal procedure.
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SAD general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that leaders who leave the AAP are being selectively targeted. He questioned why action was taken only after Pathak switched allegiance, despite his earlier proximity to the party leadership.
Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma accused the AAP government in the state of weaponising the police machinery against political opponents, saying the developments surrounding Pathak had exposed what he described as growing insecurity within the ruling establishment.
BJP chief slams AAP govt
In a post on X, Sharma wrote, "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."
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He said the issue was no longer about one leader or one criminal case, but reflected what he called a wider pattern of pressure tactics being deployed against voices that chose to break ranks. "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," Sharma said.
Calling the use of non-bailable provisions a “shameful act”, he added, "Bhagwant Mann's government is slowly transforming Punjab into a 'police state'."