Influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to one day judicial custody

Swatantra Bharadwaj, a self-styled influencer who purportedly admitted to attacking the father of a student protester at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in July during the protest by Cockroach Janta Party against paper leak issue, was sent to one day of judicial custody by a Delhi court on Sunday.

This comes a day after he was arrested and sent to one day of police custody. "(The) accused was produced before the Magistrate at her residence on a holiday which is routine. The Magistrate Court did not have jurisdiction to decide the plea for judicial custody. Prosecution sought 14 days judicial custody which will be decided tomorrow by Sessions Judge.until then 1 day Judicial Custody was ordered.

Fresh Medical Report has come. Several sections under SC/ST Act have been invoked in ongoing FIR," said advocate Rishav Ranjan who appeared for the complainant in the case. Bhardwaj was picked up by the Crime Branch officers from his house in Bulandshahr on Friday and brought to Delhi after securing a transit remand.

Subsequently, he was produced at the residence of a judge around 2 pm Saturday. "He was produced virtually and remanded to judicial custody. Given that the opposing counsel's entire team is present, and considering the current situation, we will argue that his life is in danger. We will bring this matter to the attention of the Chief Justice and all relevant authorities to ensure he is protected at all costs.

We must ensure he isn't sacrificed due to political pressure," advocate Umesh Sharma, who appeared for the accused, told reporters on Sunday. On Friday, relevant sections pertaining to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) were added to an earlier FIR registered against Bharadwaj over the alleged attack on the protester’s father, amid a protest by supporters of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Indian Youth Congress, as well as Lok Sabha MPs Chandra Shekhar alias Azad and Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.

The same day an FIR was also registered under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and for criminal intimidation based on the protester’s complaint alleging she had received rape threats from Bhardwaj’s supporters.