Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to 14-day judicial custody in Jantar Mantar alleged assault case

A Delhi court has sent Swatantra Bhardwaj to judicial custody for 14-days in connection with an alleged assault during the CJP-led Jantar Mantar protests.
Swatantra Bharadwaj (Image via NDTV)

On Monday, 7th September, a Delhi court sent influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with an alleged assault of CJP activist Nishu Azad’s father and Ambedkarite ‘activist’ Sanjay Azad during the CJP-led protests at Jantar in June. 

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts passed the order after Bhardwaj was produced before the court following the completion of his one-day police custody. He had been remanded to police custody on Saturday. Bhardwaj will now be produced before the court on September 21.

Bhardwaj was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on Friday, 4th September, hours after CJP members held a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest. Another accused, Suraj Kumar, was also arrested in the case.

The Delhi Police later added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj over the alleged assault on Nishu Azad’s father, Sanjay Azad. A separate POCSO case has also been registered against him.

The case came into focus after a video podcast in which Bhardwaj allegedly spoke about attacking Sanjay Azad during the Jantar Mantar protest went viral. He also spoke about having political connections.

Bhardwaj, however, later clarified that he had acted in self-defence. Speaking to the media, he said a mob of around 25-30 people, including Sanjay Azad, had attacked him during the protest. He said that while trying to protect himself, the kada worn on his wrist may have hit Azad’s head. He denied deliberately attacking him or trying to kill him.

Background of the case

The controversy relates to the CJP-led protests at Jantar Mantar in June. The issue escalated after CJP leaders and other activists demanded action against Bhardwaj under attempt-to-murder and SC/ST Act provisions. Hundreds of protesters later gathered outside Parliament Street Police Station, following which police assured them that action would be taken.

A video also surfaced showing Bhardwaj being attacked by a group of people during the protest. Delhi Police personnel can be seen trying to pull him away from the crowd.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Azad had said in a video that the injury to his head was caused unintentionally. He said, “…you (Swatantra Bharadwaj) think you achieved something big by hitting me on the head unintentionally. I want to tell you that if the police had not arrived for another couple of minutes, you can guess from the photo (adds a photo of assault on Bharadwaj) what awaited you…”

Azad also challenged Bharadwaj, saying, “Let’s do a 1vs1. I will come wherever you want.”

Delhi Police had earlier said that Azad suffered a simple head injury and rejected claims that he had suffered a serious head injury.

The case links to CJP activist Nishu Azad, who came into the spotlight during the June protests after a video circulated on social media in which she was heard abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and inviting people to a feast over his death.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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