AISA chief Neha Bora warns of grave fallout after protester’s father is assaulted

When news broke that Swatantra Bhardwaj had been taken into police custody for allegedly beating Sanjay Kumar – the father of student activist Nishu Azad – AISA’s national president Neha Bora seized the moment to sound a stark warning. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, she said the episode was a clear sign that violence is being “normalised” in today’s politics.

“Anyone can lay a hand on another person as long as they have the right connections,” Bora remarked, referring to a viral clip where Bhardwaj boasted that he escaped jail because of his political links. “That is not justice; that is a dangerous precedent.”

She went on to point out what she called a “double standard” in law‑enforcement. While Bhardwaj’s videos of the assault were broadcast widely, similar footage of two Muslim journalists being dragged from an event hosted by activist Rekha Gupta and allegedly beaten at a police station reportedly never resulted in a formal FIR.

“The police seem to be obeying political orders rather than the rule‑book,” Bora asserted. “When perpetrators brag that they won’t face any consequences, it sends a chilling message: today they target someone like Nishu, tomorrow it could be your own child.”

Bhardwaj was arrested by the Delhi Crime Branch in Bulandshahr and transferred to Delhi, where he faces an FIR that accuses him of attempting to murder Sanjay Kumar. According to the police, another man named Suraj was also involved in the assault.

In a parallel development, two Delhi‑based advocates lodged complaints against Nishu Azad and her father, claiming that old social‑media posts contained disrespectful references to Hindu deities. Advocate Amita Sachdeva told ANI that the posts used derogatory terms for goddesses Maa Durga and Saraswati, and she asked the pair to delete the material, warning that insulting the gods was unacceptable.

Adding to the legal skirmish, the Indian Youth Congress filed a separate complaint against Bhardwaj, accusing him of making hateful, communal remarks on a podcast and of denigrating Mahatma Gandhi.

The series of complaints and counter‑complaints has turned a local assault into a broader debate about political patronage, freedom of expression and the rule of law in India. As AISA’s Bora cautioned, the real danger lies not just in one assault, but in the growing perception that violence can be carried out with impunity when the right people are involved.