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Police have intensified action in the case of alleged attack on Sanjay Kumar, father of CJP supporter student Nishu Azad, during the Cockroach Janata Party protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. CJP had gheraoed Sansad Marg police station on Friday demanding action against Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is said to be the main accused in the attack. After this, the police had assured to take action against the accused within 72 hours. Delhi Police took action within a few hours and took Swatantra Bhardwaj into custody from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. Along with this, relevant sections of POCSO Act and SC-ST Act have also been added in the case.

Delhi Police said that on the basis of a complaint, a new FIR has been registered against accused Swatantra Bhardwaj under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) Act. According to the police, the victim in this case is a minor. At the same time, relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) Act have also been added to the already registered FIR. Police have also clarified that Swatantra Bhardwaj has not been arrested yet. Earlier on Friday, Delhi Police had detained social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. At present the police is investigating the matter.

'Were wearing a helmet to avoid detection'

According to police sources, Swatantra Bhardwaj left Naithala village on a motorcycle and went towards Khurja. It is being told that while leaving the area, he was wearing a helmet to hide his identity. Delhi Police had deployed several teams in plain clothes to search for the accused. Police teams kept vigil on possible targets and routes leading to it. Meanwhile, the police detained him from Bulandshahr.

Saurav Das said – further information will be given soon

CJP leader Saurav Das shared information on social media regarding the action taken in the case. He said that a new FIR has been registered against Swatantra Bhardwaj under the POCSO Act on the basis of a new complaint by the minor victim. According to Das, the complaint contains allegations of online bullying and harassment. Das also said that sections to criminal intimidation, insulting the dignity of a woman and stalking and obscene material have also been imposed in the case. He said that further information in the matter will be shared soon.

Controversy started after the podcast statement

This action of Delhi Police has come to light after the controversy that started regarding a podcast. It is alleged that in the podcast, Swatantra Bhardwaj had claimed to have attacked Nishu Azad's father Sanjay Kumar during the protests at Jantar Mantar. After his video went viral on social media, the matter again came into limelight. After the video surfaced, CJP demanded the arrest of Swatantra Bhardwaj and strict action in the case. On Friday, CJP leaders and workers had surrounded Sansad Marg police station with this demand. After this the police had assured action against the accused.

Police had asked for 72 hours, had given assurance of action

During this time, CJP co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das along with Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad reached Sansad Marg police station and met the police officers. During the conversation, the police had assured to take action against Swatantra Bhardwaj within 72 hours. The delegation had demanded the police to add relevant sections of attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, POCSO Act and SC-ST Act against Swatantra Bhardwaj. Apart from this, a demand was also made to register a separate FIR on the charges to rape threats, online harassment and objectionable pictures allegedly targeted at Sanjay Kumar's daughter Nishu Azad.

Swatantra was claiming about the attack in the interview

This whole controversy started after an interview clip of Swatantra Bhardwaj went viral. In the video, Bhardwaj, who described himself as a 'staunch Hindu', had claimed to have attacked Nishu Azad's father Sanjay Kumar during the protest at Jantar Mantar. He had also said that despite the seriousness of the case, he was not sent to jail. After the video went viral, CJP intensified the demand for Bhardwaj's arrest and strict action against him. After this, on Friday, CJP leaders and workers reached Sansad Marg police station and demanded action from the police.

Bhardwaj told a different story in the new video

At the same time, in another video that surfaced on Friday, Swatantra Bhardwaj denied the allegations against him. He claimed that some people surrounded him during the protest and he felt his life was in danger. According to Bhardwaj, during this time he pushed or attacked Sanjay Kumar in self-defense, due to which he suffered an injury on his head. He also raised questions on the serious claims being made regarding Sanjay Kumar's injuries and said that he is cooperating in the police investigation. Thus, on one hand, Bhardwaj's alleged claims were revealed in the old video, while in the later video, he has denied the allegations, describing himself as being in a defensive position.

Allegation of tampering with podcast clip

Swatantra Bhardwaj also gave clarification regarding the podcast clip going viral on social media. She alleged that the viral clip was doctored and her statements were taken out of context. Bhardwaj also clarified on the alleged claim of avoiding action due to political connections. In the podcast, he had described BJP leader Kapil Mishra and Union Minister Chirag Paswan as elder brothers. However, in the video that surfaced on Friday, Bhardwaj said that he had said these things in a sarcastic manner and they were misinterpreted.

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