A Delhi court on Sunday sent right-wing ‘influencer’ Swatantra Bhardwaj to one-day judicial custody in connection with an assault case registered under the SC/ST Act.
Bhardwaj was produced before Duty Magistrate Anjali Singh of the Patiala House Court through video conference by the Delhi Police.
The case relates to allegations that Bhardwaj severely injured a 38-year-old man during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in June.
Bhardwaj had been produced at the residence of Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler on Saturday. The judge had allowed the Delhi Police’s plea seeking one-day custodial interrogation of the accused.
Delhi Police on Friday added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj in connection with the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage student activist, during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest at Jantar Mantar in June.
A separate case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has also been registered against Bhardwaj.
What is the case about
Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after the CJP held a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault.
The detention came amid 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 Sanjay Kumar’s injuries were “simple” in nature and were caused by a steel bracelet. Bhardwaj later claimed in a podcast that he had acted in self-defence.
On Friday, police registered a separate FIR under the POCSO Act following a complaint by the minor activist, who alleged online threats and harassment.
Police also reportedly invoked BNS Sections 351(3), 78 (stalking) and 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), along with 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.
The developments followed a meeting between CJP representatives, accompanied by Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, and police officials at the Parliament Street police station. The delegation sought action against Bhardwaj.
(With PTI inputs)
