'Delhi cops had audacity to go to Bulandshahr after me': 'Influencer' arrested in Jantar Mantar case

Counsel for self-styled right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj told the Delhi high court on Monday that the Delhi Police had the “audacity” to go to Bulandshahr and arrest him in a case pertaining to the Jantar Mantar protests in June, despite the Supreme Court having already quashed all the FIRs.

“The SC has already quashed all the FIRs and the Delhi Police had the audacity to go to Bulandshahr and arrest me,” the counsel was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

The counsel made the remarks as the court took up a habeas corpus petition against his client's custody for three days.

The court, however, dismissed the plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Also read | ‘Influencer’ Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to 14-day judicial custody in Jantar Mantar case

Arrest in Bulandshahr

Bhardwaj was held in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr on Friday after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) held a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault.

Also read | After Swatantra Bhardwaj's arrest, complaint against Nishu Aazad, father over ‘insult’ to Hindu gods on social media

On the same day, the Delhi Police added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj in connection with the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage student activist, during the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in June.

Bhardwaj is also facing a separate case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

‘Cracked the skull’ claim

The police action against Bhardwaj followed outrage over a video podcast in which Bharadwaj allegedly claimed that he had "cracked the skull" of the minor activist's father during the protest.

He later claimed that he had acted in self-defence. The Delhi Police had earlier said the injuries suffered by the student activist's father were "simple in nature".