Swatantra Bhardwaj arrested, sent to one-day police remand over Jantar Mantar assault: Report

Self-styled influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, 21, was reportedly arrested by Delhi Police and sent to one-day police custody on Saturday in connection with an alleged assault during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Bhardwaj and others are accused of assaulting 38-year-old Sanjay Azad, who had attended the June 23 protest with his daughter. The incident took place in Delhi, according to the report.

Azad, who is a Dalit person, sustained serious injuries to his head in the alleged assault. Despite the nature of the injuries, the FIR registered at Parliament Street police station on the day of the incident invoked BNS Section 115(2), relating to causing simple hurt, and Section 126(2), relating to wrongful restraint.

Bhardwaj was briefly detained on the day of the incident but was released a few hours later.

Security tightened outside Delhi police station

Meanwhile, ssecurity was tightened outside the Parliament Street Police Station on Saturday, with barricades put up and paramilitary personnel deployed, amid supporters of detained Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj gathering there to stage a protest, an officer said.

The security arrangements were made a day after Delhi Police detained Bhardwaj from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh in connection with an alleged assault on the father of a minor activist during the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in July.

Several teams had been deployed to trace Bhardwaj, who was detained from Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met police officials and demanded his arrest.

A senior police officer said adequate security arrangements have been made outside the police station in view of the possibility of a gathering.

Barricades have been placed at strategic points around the police station and paramilitary personnel deployed as a precautionary measure, officials said.

More provisions added to FIR

On Friday, Delhi Police also added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj over the alleged assault.

A fresh FIR under the POCSO Act was also registered on a complaint by the minor activist alleging online threats and harassment. The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

Bhardwaj's remarks trigger backlash

The action followed backlash after an interview in which Bhardwaj claimed that he had "cracked the skull" of the minor activist's father during the July 20 protest. He later claimed in a podcast that he had acted in self-defence.

The Delhi Police had earlier said the injuries suffered by Sanjay Kumar were "simple" in nature and were caused by a steel bracelet.

The CJP staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station on Friday demanding action against Bhardwaj and had sought the addition of attempt-to-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions to the case.