Right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, the man accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during the Cockroach Janta Party’s July protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, was detained in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, the Delhi Police said.
CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, scores of supporters, and MPs Chandrashekhar Azad of the ASP and Pappu Yadav, an independent aligned with the Congress, reached the Parliament Street police station and sought action against Bhardwaj. He bragged about escaping jail despite the seriousness of the offence. Rahul Gandhi made a post later in the night, sharing Nishu’s video urging him to help. He wrote, “Nishu, do not panic. I’m with you. “Amit Shah’s Delhi Police, on the one hand, commits inhuman brutality against students. On the other hand, the criminal who smashed the head of a Dalit girl’s father is roaming freely in the open,” he wrote.
Because of their caste identity as Dalits, youth Congress activists were there, too, as the issue gained further traction after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi posted in support of Nishu Azad on X, alleging that she and her family were attacked also. Because you raise your voice for the rights of your community and students, it’s clear that you’re being targeted. He attacked the Home Minister, from whom he has been seeking accountability over the police action at the July 20 CJP march too.
The case blew up after a video clip of an interview went viral in which Bhardwaj, a self-described ” kattar (hardline) Hindu”, claimed to have “cracked the skull” of Nishu’s father, Sanjay Kumar, during the protest. He tagged PM Narendra Modi and Shah and alleged that Swatantra Bhardwaj has their “protection”.
Since then, the CJP, which had organised the protest where the attack took place, alleged that police failed to take adequate action against him.
