Viral ‘influencer’ Swatantra Bhardwaj arrested, sent to 1-day police custody in CJP protest assault case
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
The Delhi Police on Saturday shared they arrested 21-year-old right-wing content creator Swatantra Bhardwaj , accused of severely injuring 38-year-old Sanjay Azad during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in June over alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The Patiala House court sent Bhardwaj to one day of police custody on Saturday.
Adding to this, Swatantra Bhardwaj, 21, and others are accused of assaulting Sanjay Azad, 38, who had gone to the protest with his daughter on June 23. (Instagram/ bhardwaj_swatantra_official) On June 23, Bhardwaj was booked for “voluntarily causing hurt” and wrongful restraint after Azad alleged that Bhardwaj and his aides attacked him, leaving him with more than seven stitches on his head.
Meanwhile, The June 23 first information report (FIR) shared Sanjay had accompanied his daughter to the protest when Bhardwaj and two to three others questioned him, asking, “Why are you making a video?”, after which an argument turned into a fight. Sanjay alleged that the men assaulted him.
Notably, On Wednesday, Bhardwaj appeared on a podcast where he claimed that he had “cracked the skull of Nishu’s (Azad’s daughter) father”. He also claimed that he did not go to jail and was let off because BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan were like his “elder brothers”.
As per the latest buzz, The podcast, uploaded on a YouTube channel, went widely shared, following which Azad’s 14-year-old daughter Nishu put out posts seeking help. The BHIM Army, CJP and the Indian Youth Congress staged a protest on Friday morning at the Parliament Street police station.
In further updates, A senior police officer verified to HT that the FIR has now been amended, with sections of the SC/ST Act and criminal intimidation added to the case.
On top of that, “In addition, a case under the POCSO Act has been lodged as the minor showed posts and messages from Bhardwaj and his associates who sent her rape threats,” shared the officer.
FIR was amended and Azad shared the Delhi Police assured them that action would be taken against Bhardwaj within 72 hours.
Source: Hindustan Times