2 min readLudhianaMay 2, 2026 12:21 PM IST
The Punjab Police have registered two FIRs against Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently switched from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sources said non-bailable offences have been invoked in both FIRs. A Punjab Police team also reached Delhi on Saturday morning in connection with the case. However, sources claimed that Pathak had left his residence through the rear exit before the police team arrived.
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. Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta, who also joined the BJP from the AAP along with Pathak, is the chairman emeritus of the group.
Reacting to the police action, Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma alleged political vendetta. “The fear of Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal has now come to the fore. As soon as Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak left the AAP and joined the BJP, a non-bailable FIR was registered against him in Punjab. This clearly indicates that Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann are using the police as a political weapon,” he said.
He further said, “This is not just one case – it reflects fear, panic, and politics driven by vendetta. Even earlier, the police were used to silence dissenting voices – and today, the same is being repeated.”
Sharma alleged that invoking non-bailable sections and issuing threats of immediate action under the guise of law was an attempt to impose a political agenda. “The government led by Bhagwant Mann is gradually turning Punjab into a ‘police state’ – where dissent equals a case, and truth is punished. BJP Punjab will not tolerate this high-handedness and authoritarianism. Those who are turning the law into a weapon against political opponents will be challenged both legally and democratically. We will neither be afraid nor bow down,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Trident Group has already moved the high court against the PPCB raid.
