India
oi-Ashish Rana
Delhi Police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Swatantra Bhardwaj for allegedly issuing rape threats to a minor who was protesting at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police registered a case under the POCSO Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Swatantra Bhardwaj for allegedly making rape threats to a minor protester at Jantar Mantar, days after his detention for allegedly assaulting the minor’s father, Sanjay Azad.
The development came just few hours of Bhardwaj getting detained in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh on Friday in the case of allegedly assaulting the girl’s father Sanjay Azad during the protest.
Sanjay Azad who has claimed himself being a from Dalit community was accompanied by his teenage daughter in the protest. He was allegedly attacked by Swatantra Bhardwaj and he suffered head injuries during the attack.
POCSO Action Follows Protest
The Police have filed A POCSO case against him after the minor made a complaint about Bhardwaj and his friends were sending her rape threat and also made videos of her.
This action prompted major protest by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and others outside Parliament Street police station asking for strong action against Bhardwaj. Later CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said police had given them assurance that Bhardwaj will be arrested within 72 hours.
The protest has begun around 10 AM and comcluded at around 2 AM before Police gave them assurance.
Viral Video Intensifies Controversy
The controversy escalated after a video podcast in which Bhardwaj allegedly admitted to attacking Azad went viral.
“I cracked the skull of…(the) father. It should be a case of attempted murder. He had seven stitches on his head. He was lying half dead and was being carried in an ambulance while his daughter was standing outside the police station demanding justice and threatening to commit suicide…I did not even go to jail. I was roaming at night,” he said in the video.
Bhardwaj also claimed that Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan were like his “elder brothers” and suggested that he had political support.
There is no evidence to establish that the leaders intervened on his behalf.
Police Add SC/ST Act Sections
The original FIR was registered at Parliament Street police station under BNS sections 115(2) and 126(2). Following the CJP protest, police also added provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police said Azad suffered a head injury from a “kada” worn by one of the alleged accused during a scuffle and that his injuries were initially classified as simple.
According to the FIR, Azad alleged that Bhardwaj and two-three others confronted him over making a video before the altercation.
Bhardwaj Claims Self-Defence
Bhardwaj has denied wrongdoing and claimed he acted in self-defence.
“I only attacked him in self defence…or else I would have been mob lynched. I was with six friends and we went there to protest against CJP,” he told reporters.
Chirag Paswan Files Complaint
Paswan has distanced himself from Bhardwaj and said the influencer misused his name and those of other politicians.
“Understanding the seriousness of this matter, and because that person has misused my name along with the names of several politicians, I have also filed an official complaint against that person…I have urged Delhi Police that there should be a fair investigation into this matter,” Paswan said.
Bhardwaj was eventually detained in Bulandshahr after Delhi Police teams traced him, with an investigating officer saying his phone location helped police locate him.
His detention came amid mounting demands for action over both the alleged assault and the threats made against the minor.
