Home minister Amit Shah embarrassed as BJP foot soldier exposes Delhi Police

Union home minister Amit Shah is yet to explain, condone or condemn the conduct of Delhi Police and its use of disproportionate force on protesters at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on 20 July.

Today, 3 September, the home minister has again been embarrassed as a self-confessed foot soldier of the BJP in Delhi has purportedly demystified the secret of plainclothes ‘policemen’ beating up protesters. It remains to be seen if the home minister speaks or acts this time at least, or if the Supreme Court of India takes notice of the outrageous claims made by Hindutva activist Swatantra Bhardwaj.

Delhi Police had claimed before the Supreme Court that policemen in plainclothes were strategically merged with the crowd owing to the urgency of the situation. In a counter-affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, a Delhi Police DCP had claimed that policemen and women in plainclothes carrying lathis were ‘spotters’ drawn from the Special Branch, Special Cell, Crime Branch and local police. Deployment of such personnel, they claimed, was neither illegal nor unusual.

Self-professed Hindutva activist Bhardwaj has now boasted that he had Delhi Police gear, including shoes and batons, and had cracked open the skull of Sanjay Kumar, the father of a protester at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. "Nishu ke baap ka hum sir faade hain (I cracked open the head of Nishu’s father]," he claimed in Hindi in a one-hour podcast. The man, he boasted, required 60 stitches and was on the verge of dying. "The world must know that I never went to jail," he goes on to claim. It was because Delhi Police received a call from BJP leader Kapil Mishra, he adds.

The host of the podcast enquired how he had obtained the baton he was seen carrying at Jantar Mantar in multiple videos. Bhardwaj, a man in his twenties, brushes the question aside and says the information was confidential. He then dramatically asks, "Do you see my shoes? They are issued by Delhi Police; I did not fill any form but I roam around like a Delhi policeman."

Gloating over his alleged assault on ‘Nishu’s father’, he tells the interviewer, "You know which section applies? 307 — half-murder. He was almost dying in the ambulance. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that if her father did not get justice, she would kill herself by consuming poison. I did not even go to jail." He identifies another of his accomplices and claims that he got out ‘the next day’, while he got away without breaking sweat.

The victim's daughter Nishu Azad also took to X and, in a video statement, claimed that Delhi Police had shown scant interest in pursuing the case. A month-and-a-half after the attack, she said, she was getting tired of seeking justice. She is always being told that Delhi Police is awaiting medical reports before proceeding in the matter. With the assailants moving freely and enjoying the protection of Delhi Police, she was now fearful for her own safety and the safety of her family members, she added, and appealed to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for help.

Gandhi subsequently backed Nishu and questioned why the alleged attacker was still free. 'Nishu, there is no need to be afraid. I am with you,' he said in a post on X. He alleged that she was being targeted for raising her voice for her community and students’ rights, and accused Delhi Police of being brutal towards students while allowing the man who attacked her father to remain free.

Gandhi directly tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, asking why the alleged attacker had their 'protection' and whether action would now be taken or 'someone will continue to be saved'.

Delhi Police, however, rejected the claim that Sanjay Kumar’s skull had been cracked, saying in a post on X that he had sustained a simple head injury from a kada (bangle) worn by one of the alleged participants during a scuffle. The police said he was medically examined by doctors at RML Hospital and that the medical report did not support the claim of a skull fracture. The injury, it said, was caused by a kada and not a weapon.

Police said a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Parliament Street police station on Sanjay’s statement. Bhardwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained at the site and subsequently served notices and interrogated, police said. Due legal action had been taken and a chargesheet would be filed before the competent court soon, it added.

Delhi Police also rejected allegations of undue influence or interference, saying the matter had been dealt with strictly in accordance with law and procedure.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das, however, has disputed the police account and confirmed the claim made by Bhardwaj. 'Allow me to tell you what exactly happened after BJP-protected goon Swatantra Bhardwaj's attack on Dalit man Sanjay at our Jantar Mantar protest… Sanjayji's skull was cracked open. The wound dimensions were of such great size that it obviously warranted an attempt to murder charge in the FIR (Section 307 of IPC). The Police refused to add that charge. This section would've led to his immediate arrest as it is a cognisable and non-bailable offence. To avoid this arrest, the police flat out refused to add this section,' Das wrote.

'We asked that at the moment, the ‘grievous injury’ section be added (Sec 326), which would also lead to his immediate arrest. DCP Sachin Sharma and ACP Ajay Sharma flatly refused. Not just this, they told us on our face to ‘go get a court order’! The expert medical opinion has still not been received by us,' Das said. 'The other gang members who were accomplices of Bhardwaj have also not been identified so far, despite several of them making reels immediately after the attack and threatening Sanjay's minor daughter Nishu openly.

'So, tell us why should Kapil Mishra not be made an accomplice in the FIR since he illegally interfered with the course of justice? Why should he not resign for protecting gang members and abusing his office? Does BJP's leadership support this?'

Abhijeet Dipke, founder-president of the CJP, also took to X and posted: 'When this attack happened, I personally went to the DCP and asked him to arrest these goons. The DCP replied, "We can’t arrest people randomly." I told him, "The attack happened right in front of the police. How can you say you can’t arrest them?" To which the DCP replied, "You are free to go to the courts".'