“I cracked the cranium of Nishu’s father. Are you aware which part this crime attracts? Part 307. He wanted 60 stitches. The person who was about to die was being taken away in an ambulance. His daughter was standing exterior the police station and saying that if her father didn’t get justice, she would devour poison and die. However I used to be not even jailed. The world ought to know this. I used to be roaming round freely your entire evening.”
When Hindutva fanatic Swatantra Bhardwaj stated this on a podcast, he was not merely recounting an alleged assault, he was boasting about it, whereas pointing to his purported proximity to energy. In the identical podcast, Bhardwaj claimed BJP cupboard ministers Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan, in addition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had been his “bade bhaiyas” (huge brothers), and therefore there was no motion in opposition to him.
Hindutva extremist Swatantra Bhardwaj spoke about attacking the daddy of a CJP protester throughout a podcast.
He stated that the person acquired 60 stitches and was on the verge of dying, including that “a Part 307 case was warranted,” but he walked out inside a day after a name from… pic.twitter.com/TqgBEw8Twz
— Sarcastic. (@Sarcaztick) September 2, 2026
When the video started circulating extensively on social media round September 2, it triggered calls for for his arrest. He was initially booked beneath Sections 115(2) and 126(2) of the BNS, referring to inflicting easy damage and wrongful restraint. It was solely after CJP representatives protested exterior the Parliament Road station and on-line outrage mounted, that the Delhi police added extra stringent Sections to the FIR. He was nabbed in Bulandshahr on September 4.
Bhardwaj now faces legal costs beneath Sections 115(2), 126(2) and three(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, together with provisions of the POCSO Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, with an attempt-to-murder cost additionally invoked within the case. On September 7, he was despatched to 14-day judicial remand.
Whilst Bhardwaj’s personal account triggered public outrage and calls for for his arrest, sections of the mainstream media appeared reluctant to explain him in phrases that mirrored the gravity of what he had stated. As a substitute, experiences variously introduced him as an ‘influencer’, ‘activist’, ‘YouTuber’ and, in a single significantly curious formulation, a ‘goon activist’ — euphemisms that seemingly tried to downplay the character of his alleged crime and Bhardwaj’s brazen boasting about it.
In a information bulletin on September 4, India Immediately referred to Bhardwaj as an ‘activist’. Because the anchor termed the alleged assault because the ‘activist Swatantra case’.
As this video began attracting vital backlash, the channel prefixed ‘activist’ with the time period, ‘goon’ in a bulletin posted later within the night. They captioned an interview with Azad on her father’s assault as: “Largest unique on goon activist row…”
The relatively uncommon coinage ‘goon activist’, an oxymoron and, arguably, a paradox, attracted much more flak. “What’s “goon activist”? As a substitute of creating up these absurd phrases, why not simply name a terror-monger a terror-monger?” a person commented. Journalist Parth MN wrote: “Because of India Immediately, there’s a brand new sort of activist on the town: Goon activist. If human rights activists communicate for human rights and local weather activists communicate up about local weather change, what do goon activists advocate for?”
First in my bloodline to witness “goon” and “activist” stringed collectively to explain an individual.
— Alisha (@AlishaDutta_AD) September 4, 2026
On September 4, as CJP demonstrators had been assured by the police that Bhardwaj could be arrested inside 72 hours, information company ANI posted an unique interview with Bhardwaj, the place the accused altered his earlier narrative and claimed that he acted in ‘self-defence’ when he hit Kumar within the head along with his ‘kada’. Within the now-deleted tweet, ANI additionally described Bhardwaj as an activist.
Later, they reuploaded the identical clip after eradicating the phrase, activist. Within the clip, Bhardwaj additionally claimed, “The podcast clip that’s being shared on social media by Rahul Gandhi and others is faux. These saying that I used to be launched due to the affect of Kapil Mishra, I wish to inform them that Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan are like my brothers. Folks ought to perceive what was stated in sarcasm.”
#WATCH | Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh | On his declare made on a podcast of attacking CJP activist Nishu Azad’s father throughout CJP protest at Jantar Mantar, Swatantra Bharadwaj says, “What persons are calling an assault was an act of self-defence. If I had not acted in self-defence, I… pic.twitter.com/iU9fpeNxVC
— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2026
Reporting on his arrest on September 5, India Immediately once more referred to him as an activist within the headline: ‘Crackdown on Swatantra Bhardwaj: Activist arrested, despatched to 1-day custody’. Different shops like Business Today and The Federal, too, referred to him as an ‘activist’.
The identical day, NDTV managing editor Padmaja Joshi put out an X put up, referring to Bhardwaj as a ‘Youtuber’. Social media customers had been quick to point out that the accused didn’t also have a YouTube channel, at the least not one with any vital following.
One person on X wrote: Wonderful Padmaja, India in the present day’s “GoonActivist” in a single day turns into a “YouTuber”…What a Changeover..” whereas one other quipped: “Yesterday @ndtv known as him an “influencer”. Then “activist”. Immediately he’s a “YouTuber”. Is it attainable Swatantra would possibly even be an Adani worker?”
JUST IN: YouTuber Swatantra Bhardwaj arrested from Bulandshahr and despatched to sooner or later police custody.
Police has added sections of SC/ST Act to an current FIR in opposition to Bhardwaj and filed a brand new case in opposition to him beneath POCSO Act
— Padmaja Joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) September 5, 2026
Reporting that Bhardwaj was despatched to sooner or later of judicial custody by a Delhi court docket on September 6, The Indian Specific termed him merely as an ‘influencer’, which usually refers those that create content material on-line, with the headline: ‘Influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj despatched to sooner or later judicial custody’.
Throughout its reportage on the problem, The Instances of India caught to describing Bhardwaj as an ‘influencer’ in its headlines. One report, revealed on September 4, traces his journey from “social media fame to detention”. The headline reads: “From social media fame to detention: Inside influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj’s on-line persona” whereas the strap states, “…Identified for his provocative on-line persona, Bhardwaj has made waves along with his controversial statements and political affiliations, posting on Hindutva themes and criticism of Muslims…”
After Nishu Azad alleged that her home was pelted with stones and bricks by ‘BJP-affiliated goons’ following Bhardwaj’s arrest, TOI reported on the problem on September 6 with the headline: ‘CJP activist alleges stone pelting at residence hours after ‘influencer’ Swatantra Bhardwaj’s arrest’.
