20:39
Swatantra Bhardwaj
Indian Youth Congress on Friday hailed the detention of Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj as a 'victory' for student activist Nishu Azad and others who had been demanding action against him for allegedly assaulting her father in July.
Delhi Police arrested Bhardwaj from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
A video clip of an interview in which he is heard boasting about cracking the skull of Sanjay Kumar, father of student activist Nishu Azad, during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar had gone viral.
His detention came hours after IYC state president Akshay Lakra, accompanied by Nishu Azad and her father, met the station house officer of Parliament Street police station and demanded action against Bhardwaj.
IYC said police accepted their demand to include provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and an attempt-to-murder charge in the case.
They also accepted a fresh complaint on alleged rape threats received by Azad, and promised to investigate the allegations and take appropriate action, the Youth Congress said.
Several police teams were deployed to trace Bhardwaj after protesters gathered outside the Parliament Street police station demanding action against him.
Bhardwaj had allegedly fled from Naithla village on a Bullet motorcycle towards Khurja before a police team reached there to apprehend him. He was wearing a helmet, apparently to conceal his identity, officials said.
IYC state president Lakra said the development was a victory not only for Azad but for all aggrieved students for whom Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been consistently fighting. -- PTI
