Hate, Islamophobia, Bounty on Swara: Why Was Bhardwaj ‘Swatantra’ For So Long?

A deep-dive into Bhardwaj's social media posts shows this was not his first admission of violence or hate speeches.

Swatantra Bhardwaj: Violence, Islamophobia, Bounty on Swara Bhaskar & CJP Protest Controversy | Who Is the Hindutva Influencer?

(Photo: The Quint)

What does it say about a nation, when an entire ecosystem targets a 15-year-old minor over profanities during a protest, she gets doxxed, abused, and is forced to leave her home to go into hiding, but a 21-year-old self-proclaimed #sanatanihero gives repeated calls for violence against CJP protesters, declares a bounty on Swara Bhaskar, and openly admits to breaking a man's skull, but still remains scot-free?

The #sanatanihero in question is Swatantra Bhardwaj, who, until 3 September, would have continued to remain a small player in the large pool of right-wing Hindutva influencers, who garnered fame and following by openly targeting the Cockroach Janta Party protests. However, one viral podcast made him a national headline.

“I cracked the skull of a man (Nishu Kumar's 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. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that she would die by suicide if her father didn't get justice. But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night," said Bhardwaj in a now viral podcast.

The national capital once again saw the CJP protesters on the streets on 4 September, staging demonstrations outside the Parliament Street police station, to demand an FIR against Bhardwaj for his proud admission, a demand that Nishu had been making for weeks. The CJP supporters, led by Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were assured by the police that Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours.

Bhardwaj has now been detained by the police in Uttar Pradesh and has deleted all his social media accounts. However, a deep-dive into Bhardwaj's media interviews and social media posts shows this was not his first proud admission of violence on social media.

Swatantra's Media Presence: A Rabbithole of Hate

For weeks during the CJP protests at Jantar Mantar, Bhardwaj, along with several others, kept giving repeated calls for violence against protesters in his social media posts.

The Quint had earlier reported that Bhardwaj posted scores of reels and videos before and after the 20 July crackdown by Delhi Police, in which he could be seen posing with a police laathi near the protest site, calling for violence against protesters.

“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," he said in one video.

On 21 July, Bhardwaj posted a reel holding a fibre baton resembling the kind used by police during the 20 July crackdown, captioned “Give me a chance to lathi-charge”. The reel had over half a million views. The next day, he posted a video standing beside damaged Delhi Police vehicles while holding the baton. He said Sanatanis like him should be allowed to join the Delhi Police for one day, saying that without uniforms they would deal with protesters with batons.

In at least two videos on his handle, Bhardwaj could be seen assaulting another person. On 26 July, Bhardwaj posted a video showing several people physically assaulting a man. Bhardwaj encouraged the assault, saying: “Hit them, these are all cockroaches.” In another video from 10 June, he could be seen slapping a man for a backhanded remark against PM Narendra Modi.

The video received hundreds of thousands of views.

In another video, he could be seen stomping on a cockroach mask and saying: "All sanatanis will come to hit you, wait and watch."

Following the protest, he made several videos attacking Dipke, Das, Ranka, and the CJP movement, insinuating that those criticising him were looking to get fame and followers at his behest.

"If the Jantar Mantar program is over and all those who have been trying to get fame at my behest, now get to your actual work now (turns the camera towards a broom)... which is to sweep and wipe the floors and clean the gutters," meant to be a casteist remark at Dipke, who belongs to the Dalit community.

Throughout his social media, Bhardwaj has constantly boasted about lathi-charging protesters in Delhi.

"Some people want to know when will Swatantra Bhardwaj go to Jharkhand with a laathi. You have used a lot of laathis here," a reporter from a YouTube channel called 'Political Vivaad' could be heard asking.

"Our entry is late but it is great. We will enter when p***** like Junaid go there. There is no need for us to go there, the students are going there peacefully. I belong to the right wing. I say Jai Shri Ram. The leftists will come there and say naam rahega Allah ka d***** ka. But we will take up issues of students. I will go there only if Abhijeet Dipke and Saurav Das go there. I anyway go only to hit. The way we reach with laathis here, we will reach there too," answered Bhardwaj, as he smiled through it.

Islamophobic remarks, calls for boycott of businesses by Muslims, and hateful slurs against the community were a repeated pattern in his interviews and posts. In an interview with a YouTube channel, he called the community "kachre ka dabba", and claimed that if a war happened between Iran and India, Indian Muslims would support Iran.

Following Swara Bhaskar's recent remarks on the glorification of jauhar and the film Padmaavat, he declared a bounty on the actor in a reel, following which the video was taken down by Meta. But that did not stop him from posting another.

"My previous video was taken down by Meta and my live broadcasting has been banned for a year. So I will take a sarcastic tone in this one. A woman who has a different husband from day to night is commenting on jauhar," he said. Following sexual profanities, he said: "You will not understand this because you are Fawad's wife. I urge Brahmin and Kshatriya women, wherever you see her, you will teach her a lesson and snap her tongue. I am giving this call to everyone, especially Brahmins – I will personally give you Rs 1 lakh," he said.

Following the ink attack on AISA president Neha Bora in Ranchi, he congratulated the attacker in a video, and said that she should have been beaten black and blue. In another video, he threatened Kunal Kamra and asked him to "take care of himself" and that "he himself will be responsible if anything happens to him."

In the podcast that has since gone viral, Bhardwaj referred to Delhi minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra as his “elder brother” and made a similar claim about Union minister Chirag Paswan, while also saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was his “elder brother” and that he had the support of political leaders. Separately, photographs from his social-media accounts show him with Union Minister Chirag Paswan.

Delhi Police's Delay in Action Against Bhardwaj

While the current controversy exploded on 3 September because of the podcast, The Quint had reported on 23 July that CJP spokesperson Saurav Das was already publicly accusing Bhardwaj of attacking Nishu's father, Sanjay Kumar, at Jantar Mantar.

Das wrote that Bhardwaj had attacked Sanjay and that the CJP had been demanding stricter sections and invocation of the SC/ST Act.

According to the FIR registered by Sanjay Kumar at the Parliament Street police station, the incident took place on 23 June 2026 at around 5.30 pm. Kumar alleged that while he was recording the protest, an argument broke out with a young man. He alleged that two or three others then joined in and assaulted him, punching him on the head and hitting him with a hard object resembling a kada or iron bangle. Bhardwaj and another man, Suraj Kumar, were named as accused.

Kumar was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where his medico-legal examination recorded two wounds on his head. The FIR was initially registered under Sections 115(2), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Nishu and the CJP have subsequently alleged that her father was deliberately attacked and have questioned why Bhardwaj was not arrested despite being detained at the spot. After a podcast featuring Bhardwaj went viral in September, Nishu demanded his arrest and sought the addition of an attempt-to-murder charge.

In the podcast, Bhardwaj appeared to claim that he had “cracked” Nishu’s father’s head and that the injured man had received around 60 stitches. He also appeared to suggest that political connections had helped him avoid jail, referring to BJP leader Kapil Mishra as his “elder brother” and naming Chirag Paswan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the context of his support.

Bhardwaj has since disputed the account, saying the viral video was sarcastic and that he acted in self-defence after being surrounded by a group of protesters. He has acknowledged striking Kumar with his kada.

Delhi Police has said Kumar did sustain a head injury from the kada, but that doctors at RML Hospital classified his injuries as simple and that the medical record did not establish a fractured skull. Police have also denied any political interference in the case.

Following renewed protests by the CJP, police added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to the case. Police have said an attempt-to-murder charge would depend on further medical and expert opinion.

On 4 September, the CJP said police had assured its delegation that Bhardwaj would be arrested within 72 hours. Later that day, Delhi Police detained Bhardwaj in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the case. Police had earlier said that the investigation was continuing and that a chargesheet would be filed before the competent court.