Swatantra Bhardwaj detained in Bulandshahr over alleged assault on student protester's father

Activist Swatantra Bhardwaj, accused of assaulting the father of student protester Nishu Azad during a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on Friday, police said.

Bhardwaj was detained near Dhamra Nara village in Bulandshahr, according to police sources. The development came hours after a Delhi Police team began efforts to apprehend him following an assurance to a delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that he would be arrested within 72 hours.

Earlier when Delhi police reached Bulandshahr to arrest him Bhardwaj had reportedly left the area. Sources said he left Naithla village on a Bullet motorcycle towards Khurja, wearing a helmet to conceal his identity. Several teams in plain clothes were deployed to trace him.

The case relates to an alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of Nishu Azad, during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. According to the FIR, Kumar was recording the demonstration on his phone when an argument broke out over the filming. The complaint alleges that the confrontation escalated after two or three other men joined in and assaulted him.

Kumar alleged that he was punched on the head and hit with a hard object resembling an iron bangle. He was later taken to RML Hospital, where his medical examination recorded two lacerated wounds on his head.

Delhi Police initially registered a case under Sections 115(2), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police later said Kumar had suffered a simple head injury during a scuffle and rejected claims that his skull had been fractured. They said Bhardwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained at the spot, questioned and served notices, and that a chargesheet would be filed.

The case came under renewed scrutiny after a video clip from a podcast featuring Bhardwaj went viral. In the interview, he appeared to claim that he had “cracked the skull” of Sanjay Kumar and suggested that he had escaped jail despite the alleged seriousness of the offence. Bhardwaj later said he had acted in self-defence and claimed he had video evidence supporting his version.

The controversy intensified after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned why Bhardwaj was not in jail and alleged that he was being protected politically.

On Friday, CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with MPs Chandrashekhar Azad and Pappu Yadav, met Delhi Police officials at the Parliament Street police station and demanded action against Bhardwaj.

The delegation sought the addition of attempt-to-murder provisions, provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation charges to the case. Police assured them that the additional provisions would be considered and that Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours.

The delegation also sought action over alleged online abuse, threats and objectionable images targeting Nishu Azad. Police assured them that a separate FIR would be registered in connection with the allegations.

Nishu said she had received verbal abuse and rape threats following the incident and that the harassment had affected her ability to attend school.

The CJP has also alleged that Bhardwaj had claimed in the podcast that political connections helped him avoid arrest, naming Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan. CJP leaders have sought clarification from the BJP leaders over the claim.

Police are continuing efforts to trace and apprehend Bhardwaj.

(With inputs from PTI)