New Delhi: A Delhi court on Sunday remanded self-styled “influencer” Swatantra Bharadwaj to one day of judicial custody after the completion of his one-day police custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a minor girl activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Duty Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Anjali Singh passed the order after Bharadwaj was produced before the court through video conferencing.
The Delhi Police had sought 14 days of judicial custody for Bharadwaj.
However, the Duty Magistrate remanded him to judicial custody for one day.
Bharadwaj was earlier sent to one day of police custody after being produced before the concerned judge at the Karkardooma Court complex on Saturday. He was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on Friday, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met senior Delhi Police officials and demanded his immediate arrest.
According to the police, Bharadwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, father of the minor protester, during a CJP-led demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.
The Delhi Police had earlier said the injuries suffered by Kumar were “simple” in nature and were caused by a steel bracelet.
However, the police later added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR registered in connection with the alleged assault.
The demand for invoking an attempt-to-murder charge was also raised by the CJP, with police saying that the provision would be considered after obtaining an expert medical opinion.
A fresh FIR was also registered against Bharadwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the minor activist, who alleged online threats and harassment.
The case also invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
The controversy had erupted after a purported viral video in which Bharadwaj allegedly claimed that he had physically assaulted the father of minor activist Nishu Azad during the Jantar Mantar demonstration and allegedly boasted that he was let off because of his “political connections”.
Amid the outrage, Bharadwaj later told the media that he had acted in self-defence.
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas Chief Chirag Paswan had also said that his name was “misused” by Bharadwaj in the purported video.
Paswan said he had filed an official complaint against Bharadwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.
(IANS)
