Swatantra Bhardwaj sent to one-day police custody
Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj was produced before a Delhi court's judge, who remanded him to one-day police custody, on Saturday
According to court sources, Bhardwaj was produced at the residence of Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler at around 2 pm.
His legal aid counsel appeared before the judge through video-conferencing.
Bhardwaj was originally expected to be produced physically in the Patiala House courts.
On Friday, Delhi Police added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR against Bhardwaj for allegedly assaulting the father of a teenage activist during a CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in June.
He has also been booked in a POCSO case.
Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr on Friday, hours after the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) staged a protest outside the Parliament Street Police Station for his arrest.
The action followed outrage over an interview in which Bhardwaj claimed he "cracked the skull" of the minor activist's father, Sanjay, on June 23 during the CJP protest and escaped arrest because of his political connections.
"I cracked the skull... Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches," he said on a video podcast.
Delhi Police earlier said Sanjay's injuries were simple in nature and were caused by a steel bracelet.
Facing backlash, Bhardwaj later claimed in a podcast that he acted in self-defence.
On Friday, police registered a fresh FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against him on a complaint by the minor activist, alleging online threats and harassment.
The police also reportedly invoked BNS sections 351(3), 78 (stalking) and 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), besides Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The minor, who describes herself as an atheist and a humanitarian, alleged that she was threatened with rape, subjected to verbal abuse and morphed images after speaking out against the assault on her father and filing a police complaint.
Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad also met police officers at the Parliament Street Police Station and sought action against Bhardwaj.
The delegation also demanded the addition of attempt-to-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions to the case and a separate FIR over alleged rape threats and online abuse targeting the girl.
