Court sends Swatantra Bhardwaj to police custody for assault

21-year-old Swatantra Bhardwaj was arrested for allegedly injuring a man during protests; police may add attempted murder charges after medical review.

New Delhi: Twenty-one-year-old right-wing content creator Swatantra Bhardwaj was sent to one day of police custody by a Delhi court on Saturday after he was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly severely injuring a 38-year-old man—who was accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter—during Jantar Mantar protests in June, the police said.

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Investigators said the probe and questioning of Bhardwaj will focus on his podcast, his social media posts against the minor and posts during Cockroach Janta Party’s NEET paper leak protest.

While HT reported that sections of the SC/ST Act and POCSO Act were added to the FIR against Bhardwaj, a senior police officer on Saturday confirmed that they have also added sections of criminal intimidation to the FIR.

A second police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “We will also add charges of attempted murder after a fresh medical examination is done of Azad. If the documents prove that a sharp weapon was used to hit him, we will add those charges to FIR.”

However, police clarified that Bhardwaj has not been mentioned as the “main accused” in the case under the POCSO Act. “The probe will also look into the SC/ST Act provisions and whether Bhardwaj’s violence was fuelled by his intent to discriminate against Dalits...” said another officer.

Separately, Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chirag Paswan also filed a complaint after Bhardwaj claimed links to him. The minister distanced himself from Bhardwaj and asked for action against him. “I’ve also filed a complaint with Delhi Police that he is misusing my name...” Paswan told mediapersons on Saturday.

Bhardwaj’s supporters also staged a protest around 11am outside Parliament Street police station, where heavy security arrangements were made and paramilitary force was deployed. The entry to the station was blocked.

On June 23, Bhardwaj was booked under sections of “voluntarily causing hurt” and “wrongful restraint” on a complaint from 38-year-old Sanjay Azad, who alleged that Bhardwaj and his associates attacked him, which necessitated him getting seven stitches to his head. Bhardwaj was then briefly detained the same day, but released after a few hours.

On Wednesday, the issue was back in the spotlight after Bhardwaj, on a podcast, said he “cracked the skull” of Azad and he was let go by the police because he was linked with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan.

To be sure, Kapil Mishra did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

The podcast, uploaded on a YouTube channel, went viral and led to protests by rights’ groups and political outfits on Friday morning at the Parliament police station, following which Bhardwaj was picked up from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh around 3pm. He was detained by the police and was formally arrested in the early hours of Saturday.

An associate of Bhardwaj, requesting anonymity, claimed Bhardwaj was arrested due to police being pressurised by the protest. “This is no way how police should work. He (Bhardwaj) only said those things as sarcasm. We are staging a protest at the same police station. Till night, his parents were running around, trying to figure out what happened. Also, Azad himself has said in a few social media videos that he would have also attacked Bhardwaj.”

Police said they have taken cognisance of a social media video posted on Instagram in July in which Azad is heard saying, “...Had police not come in two minutes, we would have shown you what all could have happened.”

Azad, however, said his video was misrepresented and that it was in the context of police failing to help him even as he needed to be treated for injuries.

The FIR also records details from the MLC: “lacerated wound over right frontal region, lacerated wound over left parietal region...pending observation over nature of injury.”

On the day, the Indian Youth Congress also filed a complaint against Bhardwaj at the Mandir Marg police station for allegedly making remarks on social media against other communities and promoting enmity. Police said the complaint has been received and is being reviewed.

Meanwhile, Amit Sachdeva, a Supreme court lawyer, also filed a complaint with the New Delhi Cyber Cell against the minor and her father for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments.