Self-styled Hindutva social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj was remanded to one day of police custody by the Patiala House Court in New Delhi following his arrest by the Delhi police on Saturday (September 5, 2026). He was produced before the court via video conferencing in connection with the assault on the father of a student protester during the Jantar Mantar protests in July.The arrest came nearly 24 hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protested outside the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi on Friday (September 4, 2026) demanding his arrest and stringent charges against Mr. Bhardwaj.The accused had claimed, in a video podcast interview available on YouTube, that he had “cracked open the skull” of the student activist’s father during the protests at Jantar Mantar in July.Police officers said Mr. Bhardwaj reached Bulandshahr on Friday (September 4, 2026) amid mounting backlash over his remarks. Later, a team of Delhi Police Crime Branch officials detained him from Bulandshahr.The arrest followed hours of negotiations between the police and CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, along with student protester whose father was allegedly assaulted. The protesters sought Mr. Bhardwaj’s arrest and demanded that more stringent provisions be added to the existing case.The arrest followed hours of negotiations between the police and CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das along with the student activist.‘Strange and special hearing’“Strange and special hearing for accused Swantantra Bhardwaj. Today at Patiala House Court around 1.45 p.m., he was presented before the judge at his residence, and a special VC [video conferencing] arrangement was made for him. The judge was not sitting in the court,” said Rishav Ranjan, counsel for the student activist.“Only one day of police custody was sought in such a serious offence. We did not receive any details on the charges that were added to the FIR. I don’t know what is being hidden,” he said.Meanwhile, Advocate Umesh Sharma, counsel for Mr. Bhardwaj, said, “One day of police custody has been given. Since this arrest happened suddenly, there is a lot of confusion. They picked him up at night and took him away; we are looking into all these things.”Earlier in the day, supporters of Mr. Bhardwaj gathered in front of the Parliament Street police station demanding his release amid heavy security.Raining complaints against BharadwajA day after the CJP protest, a string of complaints have been lodged against Mr. Bharadwaj.Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan filed a complaint with the Parliament Street police, accusing Mr. Bhardwaj of “falsely and publicly” invoking his name to claim political protection in connection with the assault. The police said investigation is under way to ascertain the claims.The complaint, filed by advocate Sushil Kumar, national president of the party’s legal cell, seeks registration of an FIR against Bhardwaj and strict action against him. “First, it should be made clear that neither Chirag Paswan nor the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has any kind of connection with Swatantra Bhardwaj,” the complaint states, while requesting that Mr. Paswan’s reputation be protected from the “false claims” being made publicly in his name.On Saturday (September 5, 2026), the Indian Youth Congress legal cell submitted a complaint at Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi over alleged “hateful” and “provocative” remarks against Muslims and derogatory comments about Mahatma Gandhi in the podcast.The complaint alleges that Mr. Bhardwaj made statements expressing hatred towards Muslims, advocated their social and economic exclusion and referred to the idea of “Muslim-free India”.The complainant said the remarks had the potential to promote communal violence, religious disharmony and disturbance of public order. “A public podcast of this nature, which is freely available and capable of being widely circulated through social media, substantially increases the risk and impact of such communal hatred,” the complaint read.The Mandir Marg police are examining the allegations and the contents of the video before taking further action.Complaint against the student activistIn another development, advocate Amita Sachdeva submitted a complaint to the Cyber Police Station in New Delhi against the student activist and her father for “deliberate and malicious posts” insulting Hindu deities on X. The complaint, lodged on September 5, alleged that four posts shared from the student activist’s social media account on July 11, 2025, April 9, 2025, September 8, 2023, and August 18, 2026, insulted Hindu deities and religious beliefs, and sought registration of an FIR under Section 299 and Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.The Cyber Crime police have launched an investigation to ascertain the allegations.