Assault Case: Influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj Held in UP Following POCSO and SC/ST Invocations

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has apprehended social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, following allegations of assaulting the father of a minor student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

The detention comes after sustained demonstrations outside Delhi’s Parliament Street police station led by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) co-convenors Sourav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, and their supporters, demanding stringent action against the accused. Authorities have since invoked provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against him.

Bhardwaj, around 20 years old, had posted a video online boasting that he fractured the victim’s head during the protest and claimed his political connections would shield him from legal consequences. Following the initial complaint, the minor victim reported facing severe online harassment and threats of sexual violence, which forced her to discontinue attending school. In response to public pressure, Delhi Police had assured representatives that the accused would be apprehended within a 72-hour window.

To evade custody, Bhardwaj fled to Naithla village in Bulandshahr early Friday, taking shelter at the home of a cab driver he had met on a previous journey. According to the homeowner, Bhardwaj arrived with an associate. Later in the day, as media attention shifted toward the locality, Bhardwaj borrowed a motorcycle under the pretext of a brief errand. Around 2:00 PM, a Crime Branch team dressed in plain clothes intercepted and detained him from the adjacent Dhameda Nara village.

Sikandrabad Circle Officer Deepak Kumar confirmed that the Delhi Police team carried out the swift operation independently. Sources within the Delhi Police confirmed that SC/ST Act charges were incorporated into the primary assault case, while a separate complaint was lodged under the POCSO Act to address the harassment and intimidation directed at the minor. The accused is currently being interrogated.