A viral podcast featuring self-styled Hindutva "influencer" Swatantra Bhardwaj has sparked outrage over the brazen admission of brutal assault on the father of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protester Nishu Azad — and Delhi Police's denial of something admitted by him — during the protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.
In the podcast, Bhardwaj appears to openly claim to assaulting Nishu's father, Sanjay Kumar, during the protest and “cracking his skull".
Speaking about the incident on a recent podcast, Bharadwaj proudly boasted how he almost killed Nishu's father but wasn't even jailed, crediting Kapil Mishra for having his back.
"Nishu ke baap ko hum sar phade… Aapko pata hai, isko kaun sa dhaara lagta hai? Half murder. Section 307. Sar pe saath taka laga hua tha. Banda marne ke sthiti pe ambulance mein ja raha tha. Uski beti thana ke baahar khade hoke keh rahi thi ki agar mere baap ko insaaf nahi mila to hum zehar khaake mar jaayenge?" he said in the podcast. [I cracked the skull of Nishu's father. Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches. The man was being taken away in an ambulance in a serious condition. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that she would die by suicide if her father didn't get justice]
Listen in [Viewer warning: The contents can be triggering for some]
"Hum to jail bhi nahi gaye. Poore duniya ko ye baat pata honi chahiye, hum jail bhi nahi gaye… Ek to hamare Balaji, hamare Hemant ji ka kripa hai, doosra thoda-bahut hai, Kapil Mishra apne bade bhai hain. Ye log kehta hai Kapil Mishra ke call aa gaya, chhod diya gaya… [But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night… First, it is because of the blessings of our Balaji, our Hemant Ji. Secondly, to some extent, Kapil Mishra is like my elder brother. These people say that a call came from Kapil Mishra and I was released]," he said in the podcast.
{{/usCountry}}"Hum to jail bhi nahi gaye. Poore duniya ko ye baat pata honi chahiye, hum jail bhi nahi gaye… Ek to hamare Balaji, hamare Hemant ji ka kripa hai, doosra thoda-bahut hai, Kapil Mishra apne bade bhai hain. Ye log kehta hai Kapil Mishra ke call aa gaya, chhod diya gaya… [But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night… First, it is because of the blessings of our Balaji, our Hemant Ji. Secondly, to some extent, Kapil Mishra is like my elder brother. These people say that a call came from Kapil Mishra and I was released]," he said in the podcast.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from Chirag Paswan, he went ahead and namedropped even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is like an elder brother.
While the podcast by a channel called The Casual Talk was released on YouTube two days ago, it sparked outrage after Delhi Police's statement on the matter on Thursday evening.
‘Crack in skull misinformation’: Delhi Police
Delhi Police took to microblogging site X to claim that Kumar - Nishu's father - sustained a head injury from a kada (bangle) during a scuffle, denying “crack in skull” as “misinformation” despite the alleged assaulter's own admission.
"On 23.06.2026, at Jantar Mantar, during the CJP protest, Sanjay Kumar (38), a resident of Ghaziabad, sustained a head injury by Kada worn by one of the alleged during a scuffle… He was medically examined by doctors of RML Hospital, and the injuries were opined to be simple in nature. The injuries were made by kada and not by any weapon. The misinformation regarding crack in skull is not supported by facts/ MLC and is completely baseless," a post on the official X handle of DCP New Delhi read.
It said a case was registered at the Parliament Street police station on Kumar's statement.
“They were detained from the site and during investigation, Suraj Kumar (24) and Swatantra Bhardwaj (21) were served notices as per law and were interrogated. Due legal action has been taken, and chargesheet would be filed before the competent court soon.”
CJP to reach Parliament Street police station
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanded action against Bhardwaj and questioned why Delhi Police had not acted on an "open admission". The outfit announced that its members would reach Parliament Street police station at 10 am on Friday to seek justice for Sanjay Kumar and Nishu Azad.
Responding to the announcement, Nishu said, "I will be coming with my father."
Kumar was attacked during the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in July, when his daughter had been participating in and documenting the student agitation.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi questioned the lack of action against Bhardwaj, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah why the influencer enjoyed their "protection".
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed on X that when the attack happened, he personally went to the DCP and asked him to arrest the “goons”. The DCP replied, “We can’t arrest people randomly,” Dipke alleged.
“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,” Dipke said on X, adding, “such is the attitude of Delhi Police.”