Who is Swatantra Bhardwaj? The ‘Sanatani Yodha’ at the center of the Jantar Mantar attack has a considerable social media presence | Today’s news
Self-proclaimed right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj has embroiled himself in a nationwide political controversy after he boasted about cracking the skull of the father of a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protester. The 21-year-old was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a Delhi court following his remarks in the podcast. The attack that took place in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June has now landed Bhardwaj in hot water.
Who is Swatantra Bhardwaj?
Tracing his roots to Bihar’s capital Patna, Bhardwaj describes himself as an independent ‘Sanatani’ fighter.” His Instagram account, which had around 1,84,000 followers, was deactivated on Friday. Bhardwaj also has a verified account on X with over 6,400 followers and his bio again reads, “A Who ARM’Day Anything Histiller Youngster RASHTRA.”
According to news agency PTI, Bhardwaj’s Facebook page, which has around 3,27,000 followers, contains numerous posts targeting Hindutva, cow protection, criticism of Muslims and attacks on government critics. The page also contains photos that appear to show his proximity to political leaders and official events.
Read also | Swatantra Bhardwaj, who boasted of cracking a man’s skull, booked under POCSO
A day before his arrest, on Thursday, Bhardwaj shared a screenshot of his name among the trending topics on X. He captioned the post “I love you all Virodhi”.
He also shared a photo on Instagram showing a ‘kada’ on his wrist with the caption “Feel the power!”. The post appears to be referring to the Delhi Police’s statement that Kumar was injured by “kada” and “not by any weapon”.
Bhardwaj’s Facebook page also has photos of him at the Red Fort on August 15, complete with hashtags including “#sanatanihero” and “#gaurakshak”. In another post, he shared an invitation issued in his name by the Ministry of Defense for this year’s Independence Day ceremony.
His social media accounts also feature photos with political leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, PTI reported.
Paswan told reporters on Friday that Bhardwaj misused his name and that of other political leaders.
The Union Food Industry Minister said that he had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj and called for action against him.
“No action, despite the accused confessing to an attack that could have been fatal, is not a bad example; I take responsibility to ensure justice for the family,” Paswan said.
Bhardwaj detained for assault
Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh last week, hours after the CJP staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest for alleged assault.
Read also | Who is Nishu Azad? All about the CJP activist who got Rahul’s support
Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Nisha Azad’s father, Sanjay Azad, during the CJP’s protest at Jantar Mantar in July. After the alleged attack, Bhardwaj, who describes himself as a ‘Kattar Hindu (Hard Hindu)’, confessed on the podcast to ‘cracking the skull’ of Sanjay and boasted that he had escaped from prison.
What did Bhardwaj say in the viral video?
In the video, Bhardwaj is heard talking about his attack on Kumar.
“I cracked Nishu’s father’s skull. Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches. The man was taken away by ambulance in a serious condition. His daughter was standing outside the police station saying she would die by suicide if her father didn’t get justice. But I wasn’t even jailed,” said the world and should know about it via Bwaj video. I was outside.
