New Delhi, Sept 5:
Swatantra Bharadwaj, accused of assaulting the father of student activist Nishu Azad during a Cockroach Janta Party protest in New Delhi, has claimed that he acted in self-defence and denied deliberately attacking the protesters
Bharadwaj, 21, said in a recent podcast that he was surrounded by 10 to 15 people and feared for his life. He claimed he had video evidence to establish that he did not initiate the confrontation.
According to Bharadwaj, injuries suffered by those involved occurred when he acted to protect himself. He also said he was cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
The controversy erupted after an earlier video featuring Bharadwaj went viral in which he allegedly claimed to have ācracked the skullā of Sanjay Kumar, the father of Nishu Azad, during the protest.
The CJP had organised the protest over the NEET paper leak controversy. The agitation, which lasted 36 days, was called off on July 25 after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the government accepted the organisationās other demands.
The CJP has alleged that police failed to take adequate action against Bharadwaj. On Friday, its representatives, along with MPs Chandrashekhar Azad and Pappu Yadav, approached the Parliament Street police station seeking his arrest.
Delhi Police, however, disputed claims that Kumar had suffered a fractured skull. According to the police, the 38-year-old sustained a simple head injury during a scuffle. A medical examination at RML Hospital reportedly found the injuries to be simple and said they were caused by a kada rather than a weapon.
Police said Bharadwaj and another accused, Suraj Kumar, were detained at the spot, questioned and served notices, with a chargesheet to follow.