His detention comes amid renewed political pressure over the case following the circulation of a podcast in which he appeared to boast about assaulting Sanjay Kumar, the father of student protester Nishu Azad.

Bhardwaj had been accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, the father of a student who was participating in a protest over alleged examination paper leaks. The FIR registered by Delhi Police names Bhardwaj and Suraj Kumar as accused.