Supporters protest detention of Swatantra Bharadwaj in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Several people gathered near the Sansad Marg Police Station on Saturday, protesting against the detention of Swatantra Bharadwaj for allegedly assaulting Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage student activist, during a July 20 protest in the national capital.

One of Bharadwaj's supporters, Daksh Choudhary, said they would also file a counter-complaint against the father of the minor protester and warned the authorities to investigate the matter impartially. "We are giving a warning that if the matter is not investigated impartially, and if a case is not registered against the victim's father, whom we have come to file a complaint against this morning, then they can use the pressure of a crowd by gathering people. They can also mobilise a crowd whenever they want," he said.

Choudhary also denied allegations that Bharadwaj used caste-based slurs against the student protester or her father. "Where were caste-based slurs used? Now you are talking about the Constitution, so tell me this: under the Constitution, if you are abusing someone using caste-based slurs, only then does the SC/ST Act apply. Show me a video! Just show me the video in which he used caste-based slurs," he added.

This comes a day after the 22-year-old was arrested from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and sent to 1-day remand after Delhi Police assured CJP protesters that he would be arrested within 72 hours in connection with the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage student activist, during the July 20 protest in the national capital. His detention came after a clip from an interview went viral in which Bharadwaj is heard claiming that he had "cracked the skull" of Kumar, leaving him with an injury that required 60 stitches, and yet managed to avoid being jailed.

On Thursday, a day before he was detained, Bharadwaj posted a screenshot showing his name among the trends on X, captioning it, "Love you all Virodhi". Bharadwaj also posted a photograph of himself on Instagram displaying a 'kada' on his wrist with the caption "Feel the power!", an apparent reference to Delhi Police's statement that Kumar was hurt by a 'kada' and "not by any weapon". His Facebook page also carries photographs of him at the Red Fort on August 15, with hashtags such as "#sanatanihero" and "#gaurakshak". In another post, he displayed an invitation issued in his name by the Ministry of Defence for this year's Independence Day ceremony. He had similarly posted photographs of invitations issued to him for the swearing-in ceremony of the Narendra Modi government on June 9, 2024.

There are also photographs of Bharadwaj with political leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan. However, there is no evidence to establish that the political leaders named by Bharadwaj intervened on his behalf in the case. Police officials said several teams were subsequently deployed to trace Bharadwaj. He allegedly fled Naithla village on a motorcycle towards Khurja before a police team could apprehend him there. He was wearing a helmet, apparently in an attempt to conceal his identity.