Delhi Police have detained Hindutva worker Swatantra Bhardwaj, who assaulted a man at Jantar Mantar during the youth-led protests in New Delhi and bragged about as much in a publicly available interview, after assuring Congress and Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protesters today that he will be arrested in 72 hours.
PTI reports that the detention took place in Uttar Pradesh.
“Police officers have assured us that Swatantra will be arrested within 72 hours. They have promised to take action, and we hope there will be no further delay,” the Dalit victim’s daughter was quoted as having said.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said on Friday (September 4) night that the police have now invoked the BNS provision pertaining to criminal intimidation threatening death or grievous injury against Bhardwaj in their existing FIR against him, in addition to sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. They will also invoke either the attempt to murder or attempt to commit culpable homicide provision against the 21-year-old, Das added.
Bhardwaj, in an interview uploaded two days ago, had claimed that he avoided going to jail despite inflicting serious injuries on his victim Sanjay Azad because he enjoys support from the establishment, including from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra. Bhardwaj said Sanjay had to undergo ‘seven stitches’ on his head, and added that this is something that would have warranted an attempt to murder case against himself.
Bhardwaj said that he had “cracked” Sanjay’s skull. He also said that Sanjay’s daughter will be targeted – “now the child will also be beaten.”
“I didn’t even go to jail, the whole world must know that. We were roaming outside the whole night. On the one hand we have the blessings of Balaji and Hanuman ji. On the other hand there’s some –Kapil Mishra is our elder brother … Modi ji is my elder brother too…,” Bhardwaj was heard saying in Hindi.
After the uproar, Bhardwaj denied making such remarks and alleged that he attacked the other person in “self-defence”, and that otherwise, he would have been “lynched”.
“If I had not acted in self-defence, I could have been lynched by the mob or killed. There was no attempt to attack him. I have proofs in the form of video. I was gheraoed by 10-15 people. When I acted in self-defence, he was hit on the head by my kada (bangle),” he was quoted as having said by ANI.
Thirty-eight-year-old Ghaziabad resident Sanjay Azad’s daughter has been vocal in support of the Cockroach Janta Party protests and has alleged that she has also faced endless abuse and rape threats from Bhardwaj’s supporters.
“For days, his supporters have been abusing me and sending rape threats. I have filed an FIR against them as well. This incident affected me deeply. I stopped going to school for weeks and felt judged by everyone. I hope the police will now act and ensure that I do not have to suffer any further,” she said, according to Times of India.
Das, the CJP spokesperson, also said Friday night that the police lodged a fresh case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
While Bhardwaj in his interview claimed that Union minister Chirag Paswan is also his ‘elder brother’, the latter on Friday said it would be wrong for the authorities not to take action against him despite the claims he made in his podcast.
Paswan, a leader of the BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) (Ramvilas), said Bhardwaj had misused his name and that he does not know the Hindutva worker. “Given the circumstances that Sanjay ji is in today, my party and I stand in firm support of his family. My party and I also take on the responsibility to ensure justice for him and his family,” the minister told reporters on Friday.
An official of the LJP (Ramvilas)’s legal cell also filed a complaint with the Parliament Street police station in Delhi seeking that Paswan’s reputation be protected from Bhardwaj’s “false claims”.
Now, photographs have come to light of Bhardwaj being invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony after the last Lok Sabha election. Fact-checker Pratik Sinha, co-founder and editor of AltNews, has shared a June 10, 2024 post of Bhardwaj’s from Facebook with photographs and selfies taken at the venue. The swearing-in ceremony was held on June 9, 2024.
The CJP – which had earlier noted the fact that the Delhi police had refused to invoke attempt to murder or grievous injury charges against Bhardwaj on the day he beat Sanjay Azad – led a protest outside the Parliament Street police station today. Also present were Congress workers, including Indian Youth Congress Delhi president Akshay Lakra, and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad.
Despite Bhardwaj’s personal boast, a day ago Delhi police had denied that Sanjay Azad’s skull broke open or that there was undue influence in the case.
“He was medically examined by Doctors of RML Hospital, and the injuries were opined to be simple in nature. The injuries were made by kada and not by any weapon. The misinformation regarding crack in skull is not supported by facts/ MLC and is completely baseless,” police said in a post on X.
Police had claimed that a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Parliament Street police station and that Bhardwaj and another man were questioned. “They were detained from the site and during investigation, Suraj Kumar (24) and Swatantra Bhardwaj (21) were served notices as per law and were interrogated. Due legal action has been taken, and chargesheet would be filed before the competent court soon,” police said.
Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi too has come out in support of the father-daughter duo.
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