New Delhi, Sep 15: The Patiala House Court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ interim bail to self-styled “influencer” Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is in judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a minor activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Court passed the order granting Bhardwaj interim relief.

The development comes a day after the court had reserved its order on Bhardwaj’s regular bail plea. During the hearing on Monday, the court had questioned the Delhi Police on whether Bhardwaj had used caste-indicative words at the time of the alleged incident. The prosecution had submitted that the initial complaint did not mention the use of any such language and that the allegation was made subsequently when the complainant’s statement was recorded again, following which provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added to the FIR.

Bhardwaj’s counsel had sought bail, while the prosecution opposed the plea. Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, father of a minor protester, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.

The police had earlier said that the injuries sustained by the victim were “simple” in nature and were allegedly caused by a steel bracelet.

The FIR invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and provisions relating to criminal intimidation.

The development comes days after the Patiala House Court had declined an out-of-turn hearing on Bhardwaj’s bail plea and listed it for September 14.

Bhardwaj was held in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on September 4, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met senior Delhi Police officials and demanded his arrest.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in the alleged assault case.

A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja rejected the petition after the Delhi Police submitted that it was not maintainable as Bhardwaj had already been sent to judicial custody.

The CJP had also demanded the invocation of an attempt-to-murder charge, with the police stating that the provision would be considered after obtaining an expert medical opinion.

A separate FIR was also registered against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the minor activist, who alleged online rape threats and harassment.

The controversy erupted after a purported viral video in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had physically assaulted the father of the minor activist during the Jantar Mantar demonstration and allegedly said that he was let off because of his “political connections”.

Bhardwaj later told the media that he had allegedly acted in self-defence.

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) chief Chirag Paswan had said that his name was “misused” by Bhardwaj in the purported video. Paswan had said that he filed an official complaint against Bhardwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Central District Cyber Police have busted an organised pan-India matrimonial cyber fraud racket being operated from a call centre in Agra under the facade of a branded matrimonial portal, shaadipartner.com, and arrested its mastermind, a practising advocate.

According to the police, the syndicate targeted men seeking matrimonial alliances and used fake profiles, photographs of women sourced from the internet and staged conversations to create an impression of genuine matchmaking services.

The racket operated on the principle of ‘cheat small, cheat many’, with the accused deliberately limiting the amount extracted from an individual victim to a maximum of Rs 15,000.

The investigation began following a complaint lodged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) by a man who alleged that he had been induced, deceived and defrauded on the false promise of being provided a matrimonial alliance through shaadipartner.com.

Following the complaint, FIR No. 78/2025 was registered at Cyber Police Station, Central District, under Sections 318(4), 317(5), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to the investigation, the syndicate had been operating the racket for around one year and systematically targeting matrimonial seekers across different parts of the country.

To lure prospective victims, the fraudsters initially shared photographs of attractive women through WhatsApp. To establish trust and create the appearance of an authentic matchmaking process, they allegedly arranged telephonic conversations between the complainants and women posing as prospective brides.

Once a victim developed an emotional connection or expressed genuine interest, the accused allegedly induced him to make payments at different stages. The victim was charged under various pretexts, including registration charges, profile access fees, profile activation charges and contact-unlocking fees. In the case under investigation, the complainant was allegedly defrauded of Rs 15,000.

Subsequent technical investigation and analysis of the financial trail established that the entire amount allegedly defrauded from the complainant was credited directly into a current account with the Central Bank of India. The account, bearing the number 0512****190, was registered in the name of the commercial entity “M/s Shaadi Partner Com”.

According to banking records and KYC details, Jaya Shakya alias Shashi was the sole proprietor and authorised signatory of the beneficiary account.

Further analysis through the NCRP database revealed that the same bank account was linked to six complaints registered from different parts of the country. Police said the findings indicated an active and coordinated racket that primarily targeted male matrimonial seekers across India using a similar modus operandi.

Acting on the information gathered during the investigation, a police team raided an illegal and fully functional tele-calling call centre operating from Property No. 25, Ramaji Dham Apartment, Sikandra, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on September 4.

Jaya Shakya, 44, who served as the operational manager and front face of the establishment, was arrested at the spot. Eight female tele-callers were also apprehended during the operation.

During sustained custodial interrogation of Jaya Shakya after she was brought to Delhi, investigators uncovered the identity of the person behind the operation.

Police said the call centre was financed, owned and masterminded by Amit Kumar, 29, an advocate and BA LLB graduate.

According to investigators, Kumar used his knowledge of legal procedures and documentation to create a multi-layered structure aimed at shielding himself from direct scrutiny.

Investigators said the banking channels and procurement of SIM cards were also structured in the name of the proprietorship firm. This ensured that any initial investigation into the financial transactions or communication channels would lead to Jaya Shakya rather than Kumar.

Police alleged that Kumar presented himself as the firm’s ‘Legal Advisor’, thereby attempting to establish plausible deniability and avoid direct police scrutiny.

Following the raid on September 4, Kumar switched off his mobile phones and went underground after learning that the Agra call centre had been raided by Delhi Police.

The investigation team subsequently deployed technical surveillance to track his movements and zeroed in on his location in Agra.

On September 8, police intercepted Kumar in the Kala Kunj area of Agra while he was travelling in a black Hyundai Creta bearing an ‘Advocate’ sticker on its windshields.

According to the police, Kumar displayed his credentials issued by the Uttar Pradesh State Bar Council and claimed that he was merely acting as a legal counsel. However, investigators said that digital evidence gathered during the probe contradicted his claim. Police subsequently arrested Kumar on September 8.

According to police, female tele-callers were recruited through vacancies advertised on recruitment platforms such as WorkIndia and Apna App, as well as through newspaper advertisements. The recruits were allegedly made to believe that they were joining a genuine matrimonial service.

To establish the credibility of the operation, the accused used documents such as an MSME Udyam certificate, Uttar Pradesh Labour Department registration, a franchise agreement and Kumar’s Bar Council credentials.

Police said these documents were shown to young employees during recruitment to convince them that the organisation was a legitimate and legally compliant matrimonial service.

Investigators alleged that, over time, some of the female employees realised that they were participating in a fraudulent operation. However, the prospect of earning additional money allegedly kept them involved.

According to the police, Jaya Shakya and Amit Kumar paid the tele-callers a 10 per cent incentive on every amount they successfully extracted from a victim. This was in addition to their monthly salaries of around Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000.

To make the operation appear genuine, the accused created dummy client profiles on the matrimonial website and sent screenshots to victims. These screenshots were intended to convince them that they were receiving genuine matchmaking services.

When a victim requested to speak with the woman whose photograph had been shown to him, another female employee from the call centre allegedly posed as the prospective bride during conference calls.

The victim was then allowed to speak with the woman for several days, creating the impression that a genuine relationship was developing.

After the victim had developed an emotional connection, the alliance was rejected on various false grounds. These included claims of Manglik Dosh, family disapproval or an assertion that the woman had become engaged elsewhere.

If a victim insisted on receiving more options, the tele-callers provided details of other families whose profiles were already available on the portal.

By using photographs downloaded from the internet, staging conversations with women posing as prospective brides and arranging calls with people pretending to be family members, the syndicate allegedly created a convincing illusion of genuine matchmaking.

Each female tele-caller had a monthly target of bringing in at least Rs 15,000 in fraudulent collections. Failure to meet the target could reportedly result in salary deductions, while repeated failure led to termination.

The accused also adopted measures to prevent victims from filing police complaints.

According to investigators, whenever tele-callers sensed that a suspicious or angry victim was preparing to report the matter, they would refund the money to the victim to quietly settle the issue.

Police further alleged that when a victim nevertheless filed a complaint through the NCRP, the complainant’s action could lead to the freezing of the proprietorship firm’s bank account.

At that stage, Amit Kumar stepped in and used his legal credentials to handle the situation.

The alleged mastermind, Amit Kumar, a resident of Sikandra, Agra, is 29 years old and is a practising advocate. Police have described him as the alleged real owner and mastermind of the fake matrimonial matchmaking call centre.

Jaya Shakya, a resident of West Arjun Nagar, Agra, is 44 years old. Police have identified her as the alleged operational manager and on-paper sole proprietor of the fraudulent entity. She supervised day-to-day tele-calling operations and managed the female staff.

Other accused identified by the police include Jyoti Kumari, 27, a resident of Mohalla Bichpuri Road, Agra; Karishma Sharma, 24, a resident of Shastri Puram, Agra; Rashmi, 24, a resident of Shahganj, Agra; Anshu Kumari, 32, a resident of Radhe Garden, Agra, and originally from Bhagalpur, Bihar; Meghna Parashar, 23, a resident of Agra; Padma, 26, a resident of Bodla, Agra; and Aashika, 21, a resident of Agra.

Indore, Sep 15: A 16-year-old boy died, and another minor was critically injured after they were allegedly stabbed during a Ganesh festival procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place late Monday night in the Azad Nagar area when the two minors, who had come from Tejaji Nagar to participate in the procession, were dancing behind a DJ vehicle, police said.

The deceased was identified as Krishna Panwar, a resident of Asrawad Khurd, while his companion, Sahil, who was injured in the attack, was undergoing treatment in the ICU of MY Hospital, they said.

Azad Nagar police station in-charge Lokesh Bhadauria said the police received information from MY Hospital about the stabbing of the two boys.

“Krishna suffered a stab injury in his chest and died during treatment, while Sahil is undergoing treatment in the ICU. We have registered a murder case and are searching for the accused,” Bhadauria said.

According to police, more than nine DJ vehicles were moving through the area as part of the procession. Krishna and Sahil were dancing behind a DJ vehicle when an altercation allegedly broke out with a youth identified as Kushal alias Kunal.

The dispute escalated, and the accused allegedly attacked Krishna with a knife. When Sahil intervened, he too was stabbed, police said.

Both were rushed to MY Hospital in a critical condition, where Krishna succumbed to his injuries later in the night.

Bhadauria said one accused has been identified and police teams have been deployed to trace him.

“We are also examining the role of other persons who were present at the spot and are investigating whether anyone else was involved in the incident,” he said.

Police said a murder case has been registered, and further investigation is underway. More details are awaited. Meanwhile, the incident has led to tension in the area.