Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 4: The self-styled “Hindu activist” Swatantra Bhardwaj, who bragged about assaulting the father of a Cockroach Janta party (CJP) protest in July and yet was “roaming free,” was detained in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh within hours after the Delhi police assured the CJP demonstrators on Friday of action against the accused within 72 hours.
The detention came after Delhi Police launched a search operation to trace Bhardwaj, who reportedly went into hiding following the alleged incident. Multiple police teams were deployed to locate him as pressure mounted for action against the accused.
The police action followed the circulation of a video clip from an interview in which Bhardwaj is heard allegedly claiming that he had “cracked the skull” of Sanjay Kumar, the father of Nishu Azad. The incident being referred to allegedly took place during a protest in Delhi on July 20. Bhardwaj describes himself as a ‘kattar Hindu’. The video clip quickly gained attention and became a major point of contention among protesters demanding his arrest.
“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. But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night,” Bhardwaj was heard saying in the video clip from a podcast.
Since then, the CJP, which had organised the protest where the attack took place, alleged that police failed to take adequate action against him. The controversy intensified on Thursday after police said 38-year-old Kumar had suffered a head injury in a scuffle and rejected claims that his skull had been fractured.
According to officials, police teams had been working to track Bhardwaj’s movements after he allegedly left Naithla village on a Bullet motorcycle and headed towards Khurja before the police team could reach the location to apprehend him. Officials said Bhardwaj was wearing a helmet while travelling, apparently in an attempt to conceal his identity.
The developments came on a day when the Cockroach Janta Party staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station in Delhi. Members of the CJP, including Saurav Das and Ms Azad, along with their supporters had been protesting at the Parliament Street police station on Friday seeking a revisit of the FIR registered over an assault on Ms Nishu’s father, Sanjay Kumar, during the students protest at Jantar Mantar in July.
The CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka reached the Parliament Street Police Station, and said the police need to register FIR on Azad’s request. They said the police is not acting because of instructions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), demanding that the cops must register a murder case.
“Why are these criminals roaming openly in Delhi? Today, criminals are openly claiming that they attacked the people during the CJP protest. They are also threatening girls. Delhi Police should answer on this,” Das told reporters.
Mr Das said the CJP has not left the students or protesters to “fight this battle alone” and alleged that Mr Bhardwaj had openly spoken about attacking Mr Sanjay, who had been peacefully protesting over issues concerning NEET students. “Sanjayji’s case is harrowing. Gang members like Swatantra Bhardwaj are openly flaunting that they attempted to murder Sanjayji, who was simply peacefully protesting for NEET students. Sanjayji was brutally attacked and barely survived,” Mr Das said.
Saurav Das’ legal representatives said they had put forth two key demands — how the accused has not been arrested yet, after publicly speaking about the assault, along with verification of claims made by the accused on Kapil Mishra’s call to ensure he was not arrested
The victim’s legal representative had also asked for attempt-to-murder and conspiracy charges to be added to the FIR, alongside seeking the invocation of the SC/ST Act, as the victim belongs to SC community.
Mr Das had earlier alleged that the injury was severe enough to warrant an attempt-to-murder charge, describing the wound as having been of a size that, in his view, warranted invoking Section 307 of the IPC. He alleged that the police refused to add the provision and also declined his request to invoke provisions relating to grievous hurt. “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,” Mr Das had said, while alleging that the police asked them to obtain a court order for stronger sections.
He had also alleged that other persons who were with Mr Bhardwaj during the incident had not been identified and claimed that some of them had subsequently posted videos threatening Mr Sanjay’s minor daughter, Ms Nishu.
However, Delhi Police have disputed the CJP’s account of the nature of the injury and denied any political interference in the case. Newly-appointed Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said on July 23, during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar, Sanjay Kumar (38), a resident of Ghaziabad, sustained a head injury from a kada (metal bangle) worn by one of the alleged accused during a scuffle.
According to the police, Mr Sanjay was medically examined by doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the injuries were opined to be simple in nature. The police said the injury was caused by a kada and not a weapon, and that the claim of a crack in the skull was not supported by the medical examination report.
“On his statement, a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at PS Parliament Street,” the official said. The police said the accused were detained at the spot and that during the investigation, Suraj Kumar (24), and Swatantra Bhardwaj (21), were served notices and interrogated. A chargesheet is expected to be filed before the competent court, police said. The DCP also rejected allegations that the investigation had been influenced or that anyone had interfered with the case, saying it has been handled in accordance with law and procedure.
The CJP leaders later told the media that the “police have agreed to our demand. Sections 306, 326 and SC/ST Act will be added to the FIR. The accused will also be arrested, they have assured. They are on it,” CJP representatives said following several hours of talks with the Delhi police.
“People have been sending me rape threats, abusing me, making and sharing very disgusting stickers of me. I have lodged a complaint against such individuals too and an FIR has been registered against them as well. I was even ashamed of stepping out of my house. After this incident, I couldn’t go to school for 2-4 weeks,” said Ms Nishu. “Until now the police was not responding, but now they’re responding and I hope they continue to respond and I won’t have to go through this anymore,” she added.
The protesters demanded immediate police action against Bhardwaj in connection with the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar. The protest also put the spotlight on the police response to the complaint and the demand for the accused to be taken into custody.
Earlier in the day, Bhardwaj disputed the authenticity of the podcast clip that had triggered renewed attention to the allegations. He claimed that the clip being circulated on social media was fake and alleged that it was being shared by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others.
“The podcast clip that is being shared on social media by Rahul Gandhi and others is fake. Those saying that I was released because of influence from Kapil Mishra, I want to tell them that Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan are like my brothers. People should understand what was said in sarcasm,” he added.
He also responded to allegations that he assaulted the father of Nishu Azad during a protest at Jantar Mantar, claiming that the incident was an act of “self-defence”. Bhardwaj said the incident, which has been described by others as an attack, occurred after he was allegedly surrounded by a group of people. He claimed that he could have been lynched or killed had he not acted to protect himself. His clarification came after the clip from a podcast circulated widely on social media.
Speaking to the media, Bhardwaj denied that he had deliberately attacked Nishu’s father and maintained that he acted only to defend himself. He claimed that he has video evidence to support his version of events.
“What people are calling an attack was an act of self-defence. If I had not acted in self-defence, I could have been lynched by the mob or killed. There was no attempt to attack him. I have proof in the form of video. I was gheraoed by 10-15 people. When I acted in self-defence, he was hit on the head. As per his medical report from Delhi Police, he did not suffer major injuries. I am cooperating with the ongoing investigation,” he said.
Ms Nishu Azad had also posted a one-minute video on X urging for help from Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. She also claimed that a purported video was being shared on social media, showing Bhardwaj’s assault on her father.
In her video, Nishu said people like Bhardwaj have no fear regarding law and order, and are freely roaming on streets. She said such people should be put behind the bards, requesting the Congress MP to help her and get justice. “The FIR should have been registered immediately, but the police have failed to act. It has been over 1.5 months and the police are not helping us. I don’t have any faith in the Delhi Police. Therefore, I urge Rahul Gandhi ji to help me get justice,” she said.
Responding to Nishu’s video, the former Congress president said there was no need for Nishu to panic. Quoting her X post, Gandhi said Nishu was targeted because she raised her voice for the rights of students, while assuring the CJP activist that she was not alone and he won’t stop until she gets justice.
“Amit Shah’s Delhi Police, on one hand, commits inhuman brutality against students. On the other hand, the criminal who smashed the head of a Dalit girl’s father is roaming freely in the open,” he said on X, while tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “Why does such a criminal have the protection of you and the people in your party? Will there be action now, or will you keep shielding someone?”