Patiala, March 27 -- Rape-accused AAP MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra had returned to India from Australia to sign an affidavit for his special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging his proclaimed offender (PO) status, Patiala police have said. A senior police officer privy to the investigation said, "He had essentially returned to India to sign the affidavit for his petition in the Supreme Court." However, he was arrested before he could complete the formalities. The top court dismissed his SLP on Wednesday. Investigating officials said that after fleeing Karnal last year, Pathanmajra had escaped to Australia by Nepal. He is believed to have stayed in Australia for several months before returning to India. Pathanmajra, 50, a first-time legislator from the Sanaur constituency in Patiala district, was arrested on Tuesday from the outskirts of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. He was brought to Patiala early Wednesday and produced before a local court amid tight security. The court remanded him to four days in police custody. He had been on the run since September 2 last year in connection with a rape and cheating case. In December, last year, a local court had declared him a proclaimed offender and a lookout circular was issued against him. He later approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, but failed to get relief following which he moved the Supreme Court. Officials familiar with the development said Pathanmajra had posted on Facebook in February disclosing that he would return to his constituency after March 20 this year. This alerted police authorities. He was subsequently placed under digital surveillance. The police first traced his location in Uttar Pradesh after he used a local hotel's Wi-Fi network with a UK number. Sources further revealed that Pathanmajra was planning to join a new political party after a relief from the Supreme Court. "He was already in touch with different political parties. He intended to switch after getting relief in the case," said a police officer, adding that one party had conveyed it would consider his joining only after he cleared the case. Acting on Pathanmajra's last known mobile location, the police reached the outskirts of Gwalior but couldn't proceed further because he had switched off his mobile. It has been learned that Pathanmajra himself sped past the clueless Patiala police team, leading to his arrest. "About 1.5 hours before his arrest, he had switched off his phone. While we were stationed alongside a road, his SUV sped past us. We immediately chased the vehicle. He initially tried to flee but eventually stopped after our vehicles surrounded him," said a member of the police team....