'Cracked skull' wasn't all: In eye of storm, 'influencer' Swatantra Bhardwaj
Social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj has been detained by police following a viral video where he boasted about assaulting a student activist's father. Despite his claims of political protection from high-profile leaders, authorities have found no evidence of such intervention.
Why it matters
The case highlights the intersection of social media influence, political rhetoric, and the accountability of content creators who incite or boast about violence.
NEW DELHI: A social media influencer whose video claiming he assaulted the father of a student activist went viral had built a sizeable online following long before the clip brought him under scrutiny.Swatantra Bhardwaj, 22, was detained in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district on Friday, hours after Delhi Police assured protesters from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that he would be arrested within 72 hours.Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on July 20.His detention came after a clip from an interview went viral in which Bhardwaj is heard claiming that he had "cracked the skull" of the 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.
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