Chirag Paswan Files Complaint as Delhi Police Detain Jantar Mantar Assault Accused
Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has filed an official complaint against Swatantra Bharadwaj for misusing his name on a podcast, after which Bharadwaj was taken into custody by the Delhi Police. Bharadwaj had been accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
Paswan initiated the complaint after Bharadwaj mentioned his name alongside BJP leader Kapil Mishra during a podcast interview about the Jantar Mantar incident. Paswan stated that bragging publicly about a violent assault without facing action would set a very wrong example before the country, noting that Bharadwaj had openly admitted to beating someone severely enough that it could have led to death. Paswan urged the Delhi Police to conduct a fair and thorough investigation into the matter.
Bharadwaj was taken into custody after representatives of the CJP, accompanied by Members of Parliament Chandrashekhar Azad and Pappu Yadav, approached officials at the Parliament Street police station to press for his immediate arrest. Police authorities had previously assured the delegation on Friday that Bharadwaj would be apprehended within 72 hours.
The case gained public attention after video clips from the podcast circulated widely on social media. During the interview, Bharadwaj appeared to claim that he had cracked the skull of Azad's father during the protest and suggested that his political connections had helped him avoid going to jail.
The Delhi Police, however, disputed the severity of the victim's injuries, maintaining that Nishu Azad's father suffered a simple head injury during a scuffle and denying that his skull had been fractured. The CJP delegation has demanded the addition of further charges to the first information report, including attempt to murder and sections under the SC/ST Act, while seeking clarification from senior BJP leaders regarding Bharadwaj's claims of political influence.
