A local court on Monday remanded political influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with an alleged assault on the father of a minor student activist during a June demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler ordered Bhardwaj to remain in judicial custody until September 21. The order followed his apprehension late last week and consecutive remands over the weekend.
Custody Extended Till September 21
Bhardwaj was detained by authorities in Bulandshahr on Friday. Following his detention, police presented him at the residence of Judge Laler on Saturday, securing a one-day custodial interrogation. On Sunday, the court placed him in judicial custody for a single day before granting the two-week extension on Monday.
The case stems from a June 23 demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar, during which Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage activist, was allegedly assaulted. Investigators have invoked criminal intimidation and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Bhardwaj in the first information report.
Viral Video and Conflicting Claims
Police action intensified after an interview surfaced online in which Bhardwaj purported to have fractured Kumar’s skull during the June protest, claiming the victim required 60 stitches. In the circulated footage, Bhardwaj asserted that the act fell under Section 307 regarding attempted murder and maintained that his political associations had helped him avoid detention.
While Bhardwaj later claimed on a podcast that his actions were taken in self-defence, Delhi Police had earlier reported that Kumar sustained simple injuries caused by a steel bracelet.
The detention occurred on Friday following a demonstration outside the Parliament Street police station organized by the Cockroach Janta Party. A delegation comprising party representatives and Nagina Member of Parliament Chandrashekhar Azad, head of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), met senior police officers to push for Bhardwaj’s arrest. The delegation had pressed investigators to include charges of attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, and violations under the SC/ST Act.
Separate Case Under POCSO Act
In a concurrent development on Friday, police filed a second FIR involving Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The additional case was initiated following a complaint by the minor activist detailing persistent online abuse, rape threats, and manipulated images received after she publicly raised the assault on her father. In connection with those complaints, police registered cases under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions concerning criminal intimidation, stalking, and insulting the modesty of a woman, alongside Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
