A Delhi court on Saturday sent Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to one-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a student activist during the protest at Jantar Mantar. Bhardwaj was produced through video conferencing before Duty Magistrate Anjali Singh, who sent him to custody.
Earlier on Saturday, Bhardwaj was produced at the residence of Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Lallar, who allowed the Delhi Police’s request for one-day custodial interrogation of the accused.
On Friday, the police added provisions of the SC/ST Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj over the alleged assault of Sanjay Kumar, the father of a 14-year-old Dalit student, during the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar.
He was detained in Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after the CJP staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault.
The protests stemmed from 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 sections this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches,” Bhardwaj claimed in his interview.
However, the Delhi Police earlier said Sanjay’s injuries were simple in nature and were caused by a steel bracket.
In a separate development, the police registered an FIR under the POCSO Act on a complaint by the minor activist alleging online threats and harassment. Reportedly, the police invoked BNS Sections 35, 351(3), 378, stalking, 79, insulting the modesty of a woman, besides Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The student had earlier 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.
The arrest stemmed from the CJP and opposition leaders’ protest seeking action against him.