BULANDSHAHR: Swatantra Bharadwaj, the man accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during the CJP's July protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, has claimed that what people are calling an attack was actually an act of self-defence.
After Bhardwaj's initial video, in which he allegedly claimed that he "cracked a person's skull", triggered a political storm, the 21-year-old said in a recent podcast, "Had I not acted in self-defence, the mob could have beaten me to death, or I could have lost my life."
He said he had video evidence to prove he did not attempt to attack them (protesters).
"I have video evidence to prove it. I was surrounded by 10-15 people. When I took action in self-defence, they sustained head injuries. According to the Delhi Police medical report, they did not suffer any serious injuries. I am co-operating with the ongoing investigation," he said.
On Friday, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) representatives said the Delhi Police has assured that Bharadwaj will be arrested within 72 hours. CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, scores of supporters, and MPs Chandrashekhar Azad and Pappu Yadav reached Parliament Street police station and sought action against Bharadwaj.
Earlier, a video clip of an interview went viral in which Bharadwaj, a self-described "kattar Hindu" (hardline Hindu), claimed to have "cracked the skull" of Sanjay Kumar (Nishu's father) during the protest and bragged about escaping jail despite the seriousness of the offence.
In the video, Bhardwaj is heard speaking about his attack on Kumar.
"I cracked the skull of Nishu's father. Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches. The man was being taken away in an ambulance in a serious condition. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that she would die by suicide if her father didn't get justice. But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night," Bhardwaj is heard saying in the video.
Since then, the CJP, which had organised the protest over the NEET paper leak controversy and where the attack took place, alleged that police failed to take adequate action against him. The controversy intensified on Thursday after police said 38-year-old Kumar had suffered a simple head injury in a scuffle and rejected claims that his skull had been fractured.
"...He was medically examined by doctors of RML Hospital, and the injuries were opined to be simple in nature. The injuries were made by kada and not by any weapon. The misinformation regarding crack in skull is not supported by facts/ MLC and is completely baseless," a post on the official X handle of DCP New Delhi read. Police said Bharadwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained at the spot, questioned and served notices, and that a chargesheet would be filed.
On July 25, the CJP called off its 36-day agitation after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the government accepted its other demands.