Activist Swatantra Bhardwaj, accused of assaulting the father of a student protester during a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, has been detained in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, police sources said. Bhardwaj was detained near Dhamra Nara village after police teams traced him to the district.
He had reportedly left Naithla village on a motorcycle before an earlier attempt to apprehend him.
The case relates to a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest against alleged examination paper leaks at Jantar Mantar on June 23. Delhi Police registered a case against Bhardwaj and Suraj Kumar under Sections 115(2), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Delhi Police said Kumar sustained a head injury during a scuffle at the demonstration. Kumar was recording the protest on his mobile phone when an argument broke out over the filming, according to the FIR. Police have disputed claims that Kumar suffered a skull fracture, saying his medical report described the injuries as simple and did not support the more serious claims made later. CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, along with Congress representatives and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, approached the Parliament Street police station and demanded action against Bhardwaj.
Podcast clip brings case back into spotlight
The case returned to public attention after a podcast clip surfaced in which Bhardwaj claimed that he had “cracked” Kumar’s skull and that the victim required around 60 stitches. Delhi Police rejected allegations of political interference and said the investigation had been conducted according to legal procedure.
