NEW DELHI: Swatantra Bhardwaj was sent to one-day judicial custody by a Delhi court on Sunday in connection with the alleged assault on the father of a teenage student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar, with police having also added SC/ST Act and criminal intimidation provisions to the case.Bhardwaj was produced through video-conferencing before duty magistrate Anjali Singh, who remanded him to judicial custody.On his arrest, Bhardwaj’s advocate Piyush Jain said, “In this matter, the police once again discreetly utilised video conferencing; the court has remanded him to judicial custody for one day. Tomorrow, Swatantra Bhardwaj will be produced before the designated SC/ST court…”
Bhardwaj held after Jantar Mantar protest
On Saturday, Bhardwaj was produced at the residence of Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler, who allowed Delhi Police to conduct one-day custodial interrogation of the accused, news agency PTI reported.Delhi Police had on Friday added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR over the alleged assault on father of the teenage student activist, during the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in June.A POCSO case has also been registered against Bhardwaj.He was detained in Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault.
‘I cracked the skull’: Interview triggers outrage
The action followed outrage over an interview in which Bhardwaj claimed he had “cracked the skull” of the student activist’s father during the June 23 protest and escaped arrest because of his political connections.“I cracked the skull… Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches,” Bhardwaj had said in the interview.Delhi Police had earlier said that activist’s father injuries were “simple” in nature and had been caused by a steel bracelet. Bhardwaj later claimed in a podcast that he had acted in self-defence.
Fresh FIR over alleged threats to minor
On Friday, police also registered a fresh FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act based on a complaint by the minor activist, who alleged online threats and harassment.Police also reportedly invoked BNS Sections 351(3), 78 and 79, besides Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.The student had earlier 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.
CJP delegation seeks action
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 that attempt-to-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions be added to the case and sought a separate FIR over the alleged rape threats and online abuse targeting the minor activist.(With agency inputs)
