Swatantra Bhardwaj (File Photo)
BULANDSHAHR: Swatantra Bhardwaj, a social media “influencer” accused of assaulting the father of a student activist during CJP ’s July protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, was “apprehended and detained” in UP’s Bulandshahr Friday, sources told TOI.The reported action against Bhardwaj came after CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with supporters and some politicians, reached Parliament Street police station in Delhi, demanding stricter sections in the assault case. Delhi Police had assured that Bhardwaj “will be arrested within 72 hours”, according to CJP representatives Friday. Sharma added that Bhardwaj later asked if he could borrow a motorcycle, saying he would return “within five minutes”. I still do not know much about the case,” Sharma said. When we questioned the occupants, they said they were from the police… Sikandrabad circle officer (CO) Deepak Kumar said the local police came to know about Bhardwaj’s presence via WhatsApp media groups. “We immediately sent a local police team to the area, but by the time the team reached, he had left that place,” the CO said, adding that Delhi Police officers did not record their arrival at the local police station. I hope police will take action,” she had said.
“Then I came to know that Delhi Police had detained him. It was only after that I learnt that he was wanted in a criminal case in the national capital. Shamshuddin Saifi, another local resident, claimed, “Some villagers became suspicious after spotting a car with three men in plainclothes. Later, we heard that Bhardwaj had been picked up from Dhameda Nara village in Bulandshahr. The minor activist alleged that she faced verbal abuse and rape threats after complaining about the assault on her father and filing an FIR. “It was hard to even step out. For a few weeks I could not go to school. I felt everyone was judging me.
Bhardwaj arrived in the UP district early Friday, allegedly to evade arrest, and took shelter at the home of a local family in Naithla village, according to local residents in Bulandshahr who spoke to TOI. he interacted with a few journalists and reportedly reiterated his claims about the “assault” during the CJP protest While there.