Bhardwaj was detained from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on Friday following protests by the CJP and opposition leaders demanding his arrest. He was subsequently produced before a judge and sent to one-day police custody.
The grant of one-day custody raised questions. Rishav Ranjan, counsel for the student protester, said Bhardwaj was presented before the judge through video conferencing.
“It is very strange. We were all present in the court and waiting for the hearing to begin. Later, we came to know that the accused was presented before the judge at his residence,” ANI quoted Ranjan as saying.
“One-day police custody was sought in such a serious offence. We did not receive any details as to what charges were added and what additions were made to the FIR... I don't know what is being hidden,” he said.
The development came a day after CJP leaders, along with Lok Sabha MPs Chandra Shekhar and Pappu Yadav, protested at the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi, demanding Bhardwaj’s arrest. Although police assured them that action would be taken within three days, Bhardwaj was detained within hours near Dhamra Nara village as he allegedly attempted to flee Bulandshahr.
Bhardwaj came under scrutiny after he claimed in a recent podcast that he had “cracked the skull” of the father of a 14-year-old Dalit protester at Jantar Mantar. The right-wing activist also claimed that no action had been taken against him.
“Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307 (attempt to murder)... But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was roaming around all night,” Bhardwaj, who describes himself as a “Swatantra Sanatani Yodha” in his Instagram bio, said.
The incident took place on June 23, when the CJP was holding an agitation at Jantar Mantar against then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks. According to the FIR, a scuffle broke out between Bhardwaj and the protester’s father while the latter was recording the agitation on his mobile phone. Bhardwaj was briefly detained before being released.
His recent remarks triggered outrage, while the 14-year-old student posted an emotional video on X claiming that she had been receiving threats from Bhardwaj’s supporters.
Responding to the girl’s video, the CJP assured her of justice and criticised the Delhi Police for failing to act against Bhardwaj despite his “open admission”.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also reacted to the matter, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over whether Bhardwaj had political protection.
The controversy escalated on Friday when CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with other opposition leaders, marched to the Parliament Street police station and staged a sit-in.
While an FIR had already been registered in the assault case, the CJP claimed that the sections invoked were minor. After several hours of negotiations with police, relevant sections under the SC/ST Act were added to the FIR. Police said the “attempt to murder” charge would be considered after an expert medical opinion.
A separate FIR was registered late on Friday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following the girl’s complaint regarding online threats.
Amid the outrage over his remarks, Bhardwaj told the media that he had acted in self-defence.
“What people are calling an attack was an act of self-defence. If I had not acted in self-defence, I could have been lynched by the mob or killed. There was no attempt to attack him (the girl’s father). I have video proof,” Bhardwaj told reporters.
He was eventually arrested in Bulandshahr on Friday afternoon.
Bhardwaj also faced another complaint from Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, one of the politicians he had named in the podcast. Paswan alleged that his name had been “misused”.
The LJP’s legal cell said that neither Paswan nor the party had any association with Bhardwaj. Speaking to reporters, Paswan said people in public life meet a range of individuals and that this “does not mean that the person personally knows that politician”.
The developments mark a sharp fall for Bhardwaj, the boy from Patna who wanted to be seen as a Hindutva mascot and aspired to make it big in Delhi.
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