Bhardwaj sent to one-day police custody in Jantar Mantar assault case

NEW DELHI, Sep 5 : Swatantra Bhardwaj, described as a Hindutva influencer, was on Saturday remanded to one-day police custody after being produced before a judge at the Karkardooma Court complex here.

Delhi Police detained the 21-year-old on Friday from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, months after he was allegedly involved in an assault on 38-year-old Sanjay Kumar, father of student activist Nishu Aazad, during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in June.

The case gained widespread attention after a purported video surfaced in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had severely injured Kumar during the demonstration. In the video, he purportedly said he had "cracked the skull" of the 38-year-old and avoided jail because of political connections.

Bhardwaj later denied attacking Kumar, claiming that he had acted in self-defence after being surrounded by protesters.

Police, however, said medical reports from doctors at RML Hospital described Kumar's head injury as "simple". Officials said the medico-legal records did not support the claim that his skull had been fractured.

According to police, the injury was sustained during a scuffle involving a heavy metal bangle, or kada, worn by the accused, rather than a conventional weapon.

Following Kumar's statement, police registered an FIR at Parliament Street police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Bhardwaj and 24-year-old Suraj Kumar were subsequently interrogated after being served legal notices.

Police said a chargesheet in the case would be filed before the competent court shortly.

The CJP stepped up its demand for Bhardwaj's arrest after the video circulated widely. Its leaders, along with Lok Sabha MPs Chandra Shekhar and Pappu Yadav, staged a sit-in outside the Parliament Street police station earlier this week.

Police have also registered a fresh FIR against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint involving a minor, officials said. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has also been added to the earlier FIR.

The case has also triggered a political response. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) on Friday accused Bhardwaj of falsely invoking the name of Union Minister and party president Chirag Paswan to claim political protection.

The party said it had no connection with the incident and demanded that an FIR be registered against Bhardwaj. It also asked police to formally record its lack of association with the matter and take strict action against him.