Swatantra Bhardwaj on the controversial interview.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Friday, September 4, detained Swatantra Bhardwaj, the man accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during a protest at Jantar Mantar, from UP’s Bulandshahr.
Bhardwaj was detained near Dhamra Nara village, reports said.
This comes within hours of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) representatives claiming that they had been assured by the Delhi Police that Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours.
Earlier reports suggested that a Delhi Police team had reached Bulandshahr after Bhardwaj’s location was traced to the district. However, Bhardwaj had reportedly left the area by the time the team arrived, heading towards Khurja, they said.
Bhardwaj found himself in the spotlight when a clip of one of his interviews made the rounds on the internet, in which he was admitting that he “cracked the skull” of Sanjay Kumar, Nishu Azad’s father, during the protest and escaped being jailed despite the seriousness of the alleged offence because of his contacts.
‘Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307, attempt to murder. He was almost dying in the ambulance,” Bhardwaj can be heard saying in the clip.
He claimed that he had not been sent to jail, suggesting he enjoyed political connections.
The CJP, which spearheaded the Jantar Mantar protest, has been seeking Bhardwaj’s arrest. The controversy escalated on Thursday after Delhi Police said Kumar had suffered a simple head injury and rejected claims that his skull had been fractured.
Police said Bhardwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained at the spot and served notices, and that a chargesheet would be filed.
On Friday, CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with supporters and MPs Chandrashekhar Azad and Pappu Yadav, reached the Parliament Street police station seeking action against Bhardwaj.
Nishu said the police assured them that “Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours”.
“Police said they will arrest Swatantra in 72 hours. We believe they will take action and not keep delaying it as they were doing,” she told reporters.
Nishu also said she had faced verbal abuse and rape threats after the incident and had filed an FIR in the matter as well.
This post was last modified on September 4, 2026 6:14 pm