Who is Swatantra Bhardwaj? 'Sanatani Yodha' at centre of Jantar Mantar assault has sizeable social media presence

Self-proclaimed right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj has become embroiled in a national political controversy after he bragged about cracking the skull of a Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protester's father. The 21-year-old was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a Delhi court following remarks he made on a podcast. The assault, which took place at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June, has now landed Bhardwaj in hot water.

Who is Swatantra Bhardwaj?

Tracing his roots to Bihar’s capital, Patna, Bhardwaj describes himself as an independent "Sanatani" warrior". His Instagram account, which had around 1,84,000 followers, was deactivated on Friday. Bhardwaj also has a verified account on X with more than 6,400 followers and the bio reads: "A Modern-Day Youngster Who Can't Tolerate Anything Against His DHARMA and RASHTRA."

According to news agency PTI, Bhardwaj’s Facebook page, which has around 3,27,000 followers, features numerous posts focused on Hindutva, cow protection, criticism of Muslims and attacks on government critics. The page also contains photographs that appear to show his proximity to political leaders and official events.

A day before his detention, on Thursday, Bhardwaj shared a screenshot showing his name among the trending topics on X. He captioned the post, "Love you all Virodhi".

He also shared a photograph on Instagram showing a 'kada' on his wrist with the caption "Feel the power!". The post appears to refer to Delhi Police’s statement that Kumar was injured by a 'kada' and "not by any weapon".

Bhardwaj’s Facebook page also features photographs of him at the Red Fort on August 15, accompanied by hashtags including "#sanatanihero" and "#gaurakshak". In another post, he shared an invitation issued in his name by the Ministry of Defence for this year’s Independence Day ceremony.

His social media accounts also contain photographs with political leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan, PTI reported.

Paswan told reporters on Friday that Bhardwaj had misused his name as well as those of other political leaders.

The Union minister for food processing industries said he had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj and called for action to be taken against him.

"No action despite the accused admitting to an attack that could have been fatal sets a bad example; I take responsibility for ensuring justice for the family," Paswan said.

Bhardwaj detained over assault

Bhardwaj was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr last week, hours after the CJP staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault.

Bhardwaj is accused of attacking Nishu Azad’s father, Sanjay Azad, during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in July. After the alleged attack, Bhardwaj, who describes himself as a 'Kattar Hindu (hardline Hindu)', admitted to 'cracking the skull' of Sanjay Azad in a podcast and bragged about escaping jail.

What did Bhardwaj say in viral video?

In the video, Bhardwaj is heard speaking about his attack on Sanjay Azad.

"I cracked the skull of Nishu's father. Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches. The man was being taken away in an ambulance in serious condition. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that she would die by suicide if her father didn't get justice. But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night," Bhardwaj is heard saying in the video.