Pb women’s panel seeks report on ‘2 marriages’ by AAP MLA

Chandigarh: Taking suo motu notice of the media reports about the allegations of two marriages against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Sanour in Patiala district Harmit Singh Pathanmajra, the Punjab state women commission has sought a report from the local administration.
Punjab women commission chairperson Manisha Gulati said the commission had directed the local administration to submit a detailed report after inquiry within a maximum period of seven days. Both sides would be heard and if there was a need, the commission could also ask the state government for the report, she added. Gulati said Pathanmajra was a public figure and people looked up to him. She also made it clear that as claimed by Pathanmajra that he had given ‘panchayati talaq’ to his first wife, law did not recosgnise such ‘panchayati talaq’ until court approved such divorces. Pathanmajra’s objectionable video had also gone viral on the social media, she added.
In a complaint filed in Zirakpur police station, one Gurpreet Kaur has claimed that Pathanmajra had married her in August last year. She has claimed that Pathanmajra has cheated her by marrying her without divorcing his first wife. She has also alleged that when she raised this issue with him, Pathanmajra used to thrash her and has also threatened to kill.
Though the MLA accepted to have married the complainant and said that they both were in a live in relationship since 2012-13 before the marriage but he has denied all other allegations against him levelled by his second wife. The MLA has also claimed that he had divorced his first wife through a panchayat decision before marrying the complainant.