'Sanatanis Are Here': Inside Hindutva Outfits Threatening Jantar Mantar Protest

These Hindutva miscreants aim to "deal with the cockroaches" and seem to be infiltrating the Jantar Mantar protest.

'Sanatanis Have Arrived': The Hindu Right Aiming To Target Jantar Mantar Protest

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

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“Those guys in civilian clothes, who you (protestors) were claiming to be goons, were actual police officers, but the real goons have just arrived now."

These are the words of Swatantra Bhardwaj, a Hindutva influencer whose video has garnered over 295,000 likes. He is part of a section of the Hindu Right which has been posting about coming to Delhi and disrupting the students protests currently on-going at Jantar Mantar.

Their warnings and threats have added a volatile layer to the demonstrations against national examination paper leaks.

This has also sparked fears of the protest being turned unruly with their presence. Several self-proclaimed right-wing groups, individual activists, and Hindutva social media influencers have begun gathering near the protest area, engaging in on-ground confrontations and issuing online calls.

Most of their videos aim to villify the protestors. Labeling the student movement as “anti-national”, “foreign-funded”, and driven by “jihadi elements”, several Hindutva influencers have uploaded widely circulated videos requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government to allow them to “join the Delhi Police for a day” so that they can “show the protesters their place”.

Since the 20 July police crackdown on protestors during the CJP-led 'Sansad Chalo' march, the Hindu Right ecosystem has become more active and its members have started coming to Delhi to "deal with the cockroaches."

'Let Us Be Police For One Day'

Bhardwaj is a ‘sanatani influencer’ with 136K followers on Instagram, has posted multiple videos from near the protest site since 22 July.

In one reel, standing alongside damaged police vehicles, Bhardwaj told his audience:

“To all my Sanatani brothers, those you were calling students turned out to be terrorists. Rather than students, many terrorists came from Seelampur, Maujpur, Babarpur, and Jafrabad to vandalise this Delhi Police vehicle here. We have just one demand from the Delhi administration that, just for one day, staunch Sanatanis like us be recruited into the Delhi Police. Without civil clothes, without any uniform, if we don't set them straight with batons, my name isn't Swatantra Bhardwaj.”

In a subsequent reel posted the same day, Bhardwaj added, “Those guys in civilian clothes, who you (protestors) were claiming to be goons, were actual police officers, but the real goons have just arrived now. We are currently roaming all across Delhi conducting surveillance. Not a single cockroach is to be found."

He urged: “Gaurakshaks and Sanatani supporters” to stay in alert mode in and around Delhi.

Bhardwaj also posted a photograph with Union Minister Chirag Paswan in July this year.

Swatantra Bhardwaj with Union Minister Chirag Paswan.

(Photo: Instagram)

Moreover, Bhardwaj’s social media account includes a pinned video from 10 June in which he can be seen slapping a man who answers a question about famous Indian biscuits by saying “one is Parle-G, and the other is Modi”. The video is accompanied by the caption “ek aur cockroach mara gaya” (one more cockroach killed).

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das also confirmed his presence at the protest side.

He wrote, "This goon also attacked minor Nishu’s father, Sanjay ji, inside Jantar Mantar and broke his skull. We kept demanding that the Police invoke SC/ST Act, and stricter IPC provisions. Our fear was that he’ll be emboldened to repeat this."

Hindutva Influencers Back Police Crackdown

Similar calls for violence have been issued by Abhishek Thakur Sanatani, who has 1 Million followers on Instagram and 933K on Facebook.

In a follow-up reel on 23 July, reacting to CJP posts warning protestors to beware of him, Thakur stated:

“Everyone needs to stay alert of Abhishek Thakur. Anyone who wants to turn nation into Bangladesh or Nepal...If you (Delhi Police) cannot control this, then just give me 6 hours. I have so many staunch Hindu Sanatani and nationalist brothers with me that within those 6 hours, I will chase down these terrorists in such a way that they will run out of ground on earth to flee."

Prior to this, on 22 July, Thakur uploaded a video holding a lathi under the #cjp hashtag with the text on screen reading “Ready 4 Cockroach”.

Responding to this Instagram reel, CJP had posted on their official handle, "He is Abhishek Thakur, supporter of BJP. He is roaming around Jantar Mantar with other goons and beating protesters." This made Thakur react to their video and give an open threat as mentioned above.

In one of his previous reels, he claims that “a Chinese agent and broker named Sonam Wangchuk was deliberately sitting there (at Jantar Mantar) for the past 20 days so that he could gather all the youth and set fire to Parliament and vandalise in our Bharat." He alleged that protestors vandalised the police cars.

"If the government lets us join the Delhi Police or anywhere else for just one day, even without a uniform. I know very well how to deal with these cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. I hold a degree in doing just that," he continued.

Photographs with BJP leaders: Thakur’s social media feeds feature pinned posts highlighting his proximity to senior ruling party figures, including an April 2025 photo with Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra and Loni MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar, and a May 2025 post receiving an award for 'Social Media Excellence' in the 'Sanatani Social Area' from BJP National Spokesperson and MP Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi.

Enter 'Pinky Bhaiya' With 'Jihadi' Angle

Bhardwaj and Thakur are not the only ones who have reached Delhi to disrupt the protest, if we go by their words.

Bhupinder Tomar, famously known as “Pinky Bhaiya” and National President of the Hindu Raksha Dal, uploaded a Facebook video on his personal account with 216K followers on 22 July declaring that “every Hindutva warrior should take it upon themselves to teach a harsh lesson to everyone protesting at Jantar Mantar” claiming that the students at Jantar Mantar are being used by “anti-national forces and are becoming puppets in the hands of people with jihadi mindset, working to defame India.”

While speaking to the media, Pinky appeared at Jantar Mantar expressing frustration with law enforcement, saying, “We are ready to fight the police because they have hit our kids now. They were meant to beat and jail these ‘Mullas’, not our students.”

Other Hindutva miscreants have also joined in, claiming that under Harsh Chaudhary's leadership, they showed swords and said, "if you target out gods and goddesses then we will see to you at Jantar Mantar."

Infiltrating the Protest Site

These Hindutva figures are also allegedly attempting to destabilise the protest by quietly embedding themselves within the crowds to stir chaos and provoke protestors and potentially discredit the movement.

A self-proclaimed right-wing creator, Thakur Monu Singh Shivsingh, who has over 7K followers on Instagram has been seen with the creators we've mentioned above such as Abhishek Thakur.

In video clips posted on his social media accounts, Singh appears to be present within the crowd, smiling while repeatedly chanting “maro maro” (hit him, hit him), encouraging protestors to attack a media person on scene.

Apart from them, smaller content creators have also joined the trend. An Instagram content creator Vashu Pal posted a reel, that garnered 264K likes. In the video, he is holding a lathi and bowing before an image of PM Modi on a television screen and has written, “Modi let me join the Delhi police for just one day.”

This seems to be the talking point in the Hindu Right ecosystem where they want to be a police official for a day to lathi-charge and beat the protestors who have students, women and children among them.

The push against the student protesters is not limited to physical presence and online campaigns, it has also entered the courtroom.

The Delhi High Court has agreed to urgently hear a PIL filed by Satish Kumar Aggarwal, former Vice-President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. According to a Live Law report, represented by Advocate Barun Kumar Sinha, the petition seeks a direction for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over all FIRs registered by Delhi Police in connection with the student protest.

The plea claims that the “so-called student agitation” has held the capital hostage and is part of a “larger conspiracy allegedly orchestrated and funded by anti-national and foreign elements”. The petition specifically cites social activist Sonam Wangchuk's participation, alleging foreign affiliations

As students continue their sit-in amidst heightened police deployment, the growing presence of these Hindutva persons openly invoking physical violence presents a grave risk of further escalation, raising questions as to how they might instigate the protestors and become a mob in the protest.