Self-styled Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, accused of assaulting a 38-year-old man during a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June, was arrested and sent to one-day police custody on Saturday. A Patiala House court ordered Bhardwaj’s custody, with Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler passing the order.
Swatantra Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Azad, who had attended the June 23 protest with his daughter. Azad suffered serious head injuries in the alleged attack. Delhi Police detained Bhardwaj on Friday, shortly after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other political leaders held a protest outside the Parliament Street police station.
The initial FIR registered on June 23 mentioned provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to causing hurt and wrongful restraint. Police later added provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act following the latest protest.
Sanjay Azad, who belongs to the Dalit community, alleged that he was attacked after being confronted about recording the protest. “I suffered seven stitches on my head but the police did not even give me MLC. They refused to help me. A person rushed me to the hospital,” he said. He further alleged that his daughter had been threatened after she spoke out about the incident. “My daughter, who has been fighting for me, was threatened by Bhardwaj and his men. They sent her rape threats and made videos of her. We just want an FIR. They have tried to kill me, spoken about our caste and threatened my minor daughter,” Azad said.
Bhardwaj has denied the allegations and maintained that he acted in self-defence. “I only attacked him in self defence…or else I would have been mob lynched. I was with six friends and we went there to protest against CJP,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Police have also registered a separate case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and relevant BNS provisions following a complaint alleging that Bhardwaj issued rape threats against Azad’s minor daughter.
Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose name Bhardwaj had invoked in connection with his political links, has distanced himself from him and said he had filed a complaint. “This incident is extremely serious. The way a person is openly admitting that he beat someone so severely that it could possibly have led to their death,” Paswan said. He added that Bhardwaj’s alleged use of his name made the matter more serious. “Understanding the seriousness of this matter, and because that person has misused my name along with the names of several politicians, I have also filed an official complaint against that person...I have urged Delhi Police that there should be a fair investigation into this matter,” he said.
According to the FIR, Azad had accompanied his daughter to the protest when Bhardwaj and two or three others confronted him, asking, “why are you making a video”. The exchange allegedly escalated into a physical altercation, during which Azad said he was assaulted. The medical report cited in the FIR records injuries including a “lacerated wound over right frontal region” and a “lacerated wound over left parietal region”, with the nature of the injuries pending further observation.
Swatantra Bhardwaj was initially detained following the June incident but released within hours. He later claimed on a podcast to have links with senior political figures, including Union minister Chirag Paswan and Delhi minister Kapil Mishra. Following which the Cockroach Janta Party marched to Delhi’s Parliament Street police station, demanding Bhardwaj’s arrest. MP Chandrasekhar Azad too accompanied the political outfit. The Delhi Police assured that Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours. The 21 year old was detained from Uttar Pradesh soon after.
