Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 5: The Delhi police on Saturday placed under arrest the self-styled Hindutva social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, who had been bragging about having “cracked the skull” of the father of a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protester at Jantar Mantar and could “still escape the arrest” because of his high political connections including the central ministers.
Soon after his arrest, he was produced before the Patiala House court and was sent to one-day police custody, officials said.
According to the police, Bhardwaj, who describes himself as a ‘Kattar Hindu,’ had claimed that he had “cracked open the skull” of a student protester’s father during the protests at Jantar Mantar in July during an interview available on YouTube. Police officers said he had reached Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Friday amid mounting backlash over his remarks in a video podcast. Later, a team of Delhi Police Crime Branch officials detained Bhardwaj from Bulandshahr
The arrest followed hours of negotiations between the police and CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, along with student protester Nishu Azad, whose father, Sanjay, was assaulted. The protesters sought Bhardwaj’s arrest and demanded that more stringent provisions be added to the existing case. In a video, Nishu Azad had also 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 but the police have failed to register a first information report (FIR) against Bhardwaj, seeking help from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
The police have now added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj. Notably, the cops had earlier said the victim’s injuries were “simple” in nature and were caused by a steel bracelet. The police also reportedly invoked BNS Sections 351(3), 78 (stalking) and 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), besides Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The developments came after CJP representatives, accompanied by Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, met police officials at the Parliament Street police station and sought action against Bhardwaj. The delegation had also demanded the addition of attempt-to-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions to the case and a separate FIR over alleged rape threats and online abuse targeting the minor activist.
In a related development, the Supreme Court lawyer Amita Sachdeva has lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police against Nishu Azad for insulting Hindu deities. The complainant claims she had previously given an opportunity to remove the objectionable posts concerning Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, Goddess Saraswati, and Durga.
Since Nishu is a minor, she and her father were asked to remove the posts instead of facing immediate legal action. It is alleged that Nishu and his father did not delete the posts and the content remains public. Following the failure to remove the posts, the complainant has sought the registration of a complaint against Nishu and his father. The complainant stated that while disagreeing with someone’s religious beliefs is a matter of personal right, but no one is permitted to hurt religious sentiments in the name of freedom of expression.
“Strange and Special Hearing for Accused Swatantra Bhardwaj. Today at Patiala House Court around 1:45 he was presented before the judge at his residence, and a special VC arrangement was done for him. The judge was not sitting in court. No idea about which charges are being freshly pressed. No idea about how many days of remand was asked by the police,” said Rishav Ranjan, counsel for Nishu Azad. “Only one day police custody was sought in such a serious offence. Only one day. We did not receive any details on the charges that were added to the FIR. I don’t know what is being hidden,” he said.
Meanwhile, Advocate Umesh Sharma, Counsel for Swatantra Bhardwaj, said, “One day of police custody has been given. The police have taken him into custody, and our defence team was fully prepared. We have to sign the vakalatnama and complete many formalities, so we are following all the necessary procedures. His family is also in contact with us. Since this arrest happened suddenly, there is a lot of confusion. They picked him up at night and took him away; we are looking into all these things.”
In another related development, the Union Minister for Food Processing and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan has filed a complaint with the Parliament Street police against Swatantra Bhardwaj accusing him of “falsely and publicly” invoking his name to claim political protection in connection with the assault on Nishu’s father.
The complaint, dated September 4 and filed by advocate Sushil Kumar, national president of the party’s legal cell, seeks registration of an FIR against Bhardwaj and strict action against him. It also asks the police to formally place on record that neither Mr Paswan nor the LJP (Ram Vilas) has any connection with Mr Bhardwaj or the incident.
The complaint seeks to protect Mr Paswan’s reputation from what it describes as false public claims made by Bhardwaj and says the party stands with student activist Nishu Azad and her father, Sanjay Kumar. “First, it should be made clear that neither Chirag Paswan nor the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has any kind of connection with Swatantra Bhardwaj,” the complaint states, while requesting that Mr Paswan’s reputation be protected from the “false claims” being made publicly in his name. It further says the party had “stood formally” in support of Nishu Azad and her father, and seeks action against Bhardwaj for his alleged conduct.
The complaint comes after a video clip resurfaced in which Bhardwaj is seen claiming that he had “cracked the skull” of Ms Azad’s father during a CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in July and managed to avoid being jailed because of his political connections. In the video, Bhardwaj invoked the names of several political leaders while speaking about the incident. “Kapil Mishra is my elder brother… Chirag Paswan is my elder brother… I have everyone’s support,” he claimed.
Mr Paswan publicly distanced himself and his party from Bhardwaj and said the use of his name to suggest political protection amounted to misuse of his identity. “In public life, many people come to meet us, put their point forth. But if on that basis they claim to be personal acquaintances, then that is a misuse of our name,” Mr Paswan said.
“I have lodged a formal complaint against this misuse of my name,” he said, urging the Delhi Police to conduct an impartial investigation. “This incident is extremely serious. The way a person is openly admitting that he beat someone so severely that it could possibly have led to their death. To openly admit this on a podcast and even after that, if no action is taken against him, then I believe this will set a very wrong example before the country and the people,” he said. The Union minister further assured support to Ms Azad and her father, saying that ensuring justice for the victim’s family was his and his party’s responsibility.
Bhardwaj had told the media even on Friday that his remarks in the podcast about cracking the skull of Sanjay Kumar were “made in jest,” while at the same time adding that if the need arose, he would attack people again. Bhardwaj’s claims raised questions over the role of the Delhi Police and the action taken in the June 23 incident.
Originally from Patna, Bihar, Swatantra Bhardwaj describes himself on social media as a young influencer and Hindutva activist. He has consistently portrayed himself as an independent “Sanatani” warrior and has around 1.8 lakh followers across his social media accounts. His public profile has been shaped primarily by social media posts, videos and public statements on issues linked to Hindutva.
He has also frequently claimed proximity to politically influential figures, fuelling speculation about his political connections. His social media accounts contain several inflammatory posts. In his latest posts, he made comments targeting actor Swara Bhasker in response to her remarks about the practice of ‘Jauhar’. In another post, he used abusive language against Akhilesh Yadav over the Ram Mandir donation theft controversy.
In a third post, he stated: “We’ve just used a ‘kada’ (heavy stick) for now; next, we’ll go further and use katta (country-made pistol).” In yet another post, holding a police baton, he said: “I hear ‘CJP Season 2’ is coming up – best of luck.” In one post, he referred to AISA leader Neha Bora as “Neeli Chinti” (blue ant). In another, he declared: “We will show them what real hooliganism looks like at the CJP protest.”
His accounts also contain numerous posts targeting Muslims, opposition leaders and reservation. It is unclear whether he has faced any police case in connection with his highly inflammatory and allegedly hateful social media posts.
The latest controversy about “cracking the skull” of Nishu’ father began on June 23, 2026, at CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. The 38-year-old man from Ghaziabad was at the protest accompanied by his minor daughter Nishu. Swatantra Bhardwaj and his associates also arrived at the protest site.
At around 5 pm, an altercation broke out after some people began filming Bhardwaj and his activities. Subsequently, as seen in a video of the incident, the minor girl’s father and his associates began beating Bhardwaj, who, in turn, struck the man on his head with a kada. According to the police, both sides were taken to police station.
A medical examination of the girl’s father classified his injury as “simple,” according to the police. An FIR was registered against both sides under the sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 115(2) – voluntarily causing hurt, Section 126(2) – wrongful restraint/confinement and Section 3(5) – shared criminal liability. The police said both sides were released because the sections invoked are bailable and carry a maximum punishment of one year.
On July 24, 2026, a video featuring the minor girl’s father surfaced on social media. “They are celebrating after hitting me on my head by chance,” he said in the video, adding: “I want to make this clear that had the police not arrived, you would have seen what we would do to you.” His minor daughter was also visible alongside him in the video. The controversy escalated when a clip from the podcast featuring Bhardwaj went viral, in which he made the claims about “cracking” the man’s skull and receiving political protection.
The video prompted questions over why Bhardwaj had not been arrested in connection with the June incident. The Delhi Police, however, maintains that necessary action was taken. According to the police, Bhardwaj and the minor girl’s father were detained at the protest site following the incident. Both were questioned and subsequently joined the investigation after being served notices in accordance with the law. The police maintain that the victim’s injury was minor, based on his medical report. The victim’s family has contested this claim.
Following the podcast controversy, the CJP and the Bhim Army launched protests against the Delhi Police. On September 4, representatives of the CJP visited the Sansad Marg police station and demanded Bhardwaj’s arrest. The CJP alleged that the police had failed to arrest Bhardwaj in June and had instead released him after merely issuing a notice.
The controversy was not limited to the June 23 assault. The minor girl alleged that she was being subjected to constant abuse, threats and rape threats on social media, and that morphed images of her were being circulated online. Acting on her complaint, the police registered a separate FIR, naming Swatantra Bhardwaj as an accused in the case. The FIR was registered under provisions of the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.