New Delhi: Twenty-one-year-old right-wing content creator Swatantra Bhardwaj was sent to one day of police custody by a Delhi court on Saturday after he was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly severely injuring a 38-year-old man—who was accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter—during Jantar Mantar protests in June, the police said.
If the documents prove that a sharp weapon was used to hit him, we will add those charges to FIR. Separately, Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chirag Paswan also filed a complaint after Bhardwaj claimed links to him. The minister distanced himself from Bhardwaj and asked for action against him. “I’ve also filed a complaint with Delhi Police that he is misusing my name… Bhardwaj’s supporters also staged a protest around 11am outside Parliament Street police station, where heavy security arrangements were made and paramilitary force was deployed. The entry to the station was blocked. He was detained by the police and was formally arrested in the early hours of Saturday.
A second police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “We will also add charges of attempted murder after a fresh medical examination is done of Azad. However, police clarified that Bhardwaj has not been mentioned as the “main accused” in the case under the POCSO Act. “The probe will also look into the SC/ST Act provisions and whether Bhardwaj’s violence was fuelled by his intent to discriminate against Dalits…” said another officer. On Wednesday, the issue was back in the spotlight after Bhardwaj, on a podcast, said he “cracked the skull” of Azad and he was let go by the police because he was linked with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan.
a senior police officer on Saturday confirmed that they have also added sections of criminal intimidation to the FIR While HT reported that sections of the SC/ST Act and POCSO Act were added to the FIR against Bhardwaj. Paswan told mediapersons on Saturday. The podcast, uploaded on a YouTube channel, went viral and led to protests by rights’ groups and political outfits on Friday morning at the Parliament police station, following which Bhardwaj was picked up from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh around 3pm.
