100+ questions, shown viral videos: Delhi police grills 'Hindutva influencer'

Self-proclaimed Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, arrested in connection with the alleged assault on a student activist's father during a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, was shown his viral videos and questioned by multiple police teams during his remand, officials said on Sunday. Bhardwaj (22).

According to sources, investigators showed Bhardwaj several of his viral videos as part of the questioning and confronted him with the statements and claims made by him in the videos. The sources said Bhardwaj showed no sign of remorse during his questioning.

What Happened

Bhardwaj was arrested on Friday after being detained in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and sent to a daylong police custody by a Delhi court on Saturday. He was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler at his residence around 2 pm.

• No FIR has been registered in the matter yet, a senior police officer said.

• In a separate development, Supreme Court lawyer Amita Sachdeva got a complaint lodged with the Delhi Police against the student activist, alleging that she insulted Hindu deities through objectionable social-media posts.

• A Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) delegation, accompanied by Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, met police officials on Friday and demanded action against Bhardwaj, including the addition of attempt-to-murder.

Key Details

The development came after the Delhi Police added sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the charge of criminal intimidation to the FIR registered over the alleged assault. A fresh FIR under the Protection of.

• Several supporters of the self-proclaimed Hindutva influencer had gathered outside the Parliament Street police station on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of the case against Bhardwaj and a fair investigation.

• Investigators are also going through Bhardwaj's social-media posts, videos and other digital material as part of the probe, the officials said.

• The Delhi Police had earlier said the injuries suffered by the student activist's father were "simple in nature".

Why It Matters

He had subsequently claimed that he had acted in self-defence.

• The police action followed outrage over a video podcast, in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had "cracked the skull" of the minor activist's father during the protest.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Rediff as more details emerge