Jantar Mantar protests: Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to 14-day judicial custody in assault case

A Delhi court on Monday sent Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault on the father of a student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar in June.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler extended Bhardwaj’s judicial custody until September 21. He was detained in Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest.

The action followed a controversy over an interview in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed he had “cracked the skull” of the activist’s father during the June 23 protest and escaped arrest because of his political connections.

Bhardwaj had said in the interview: “I cracked the skull... Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches.”

He was produced before the judge at the latter’s residence on Saturday, when the court allowed Delhi Police’s request for one-day custodial interrogation. He was subsequently sent to one-day judicial custody on Sunday before Monday’s extension.

The FIR against Bhardwaj has been expanded to include provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation over the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of the teenage activist. Delhi Police had earlier said Kumar’s injuries were “simple” and had been caused by a steel bracelet. Bhardwaj has maintained that he acted in self-defence.

In a separate development, police registered a fresh FIR on Friday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint by the minor activist alleging online threats and harassment.

The police also reportedly invoked BNS Sections 351(3), 78 and 79, dealing with criminal intimidation, stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman, respectively, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

The student had alleged that she received rape threats, verbal abuse and morphed images after speaking out against the alleged assault on her father and filing a police complaint.

The latest developments followed a meeting between CJP representatives, accompanied by Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, and police officials at the Parliament Street police station.

The delegation had demanded Bhardwaj’s arrest and sought the addition of attempt-to-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions to the assault case. It also sought a separate FIR over alleged rape threats and online abuse targeting the minor activist.

Bhardwaj’s judicial custody will continue until September 21 as the police investigation into the cases proceeds.