Right-wing chief slaps two CJP students near Jantar Mantar

What we can verify

• Incident captured on video: A roughly one-minute video circulating on social media since 24 July shows a man identified as Satyam Pandit, a resident of Ghaziabad and self-styled president of the Rashtra Hindu Veer Sena, confronting two young men near Hanuman Mandir, close to the Jantar Mantar protest site where the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) agitation over the NEET paper leak had been underway.

• Assault visible in the clip: Pandit, wearing an orange scarf, questions the two youths — asking their names, whether they are Hindu, and why they support CJP. He then grabs one by the collar and slaps him twice. Both students plead with him to let them go.

• Students identified: The two students are from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. One of them, Ayush, told local media in Bareilly that he had been staying at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi and participating in the protest since 23 July. He said a car stopped near them, an occupant abused and slapped his friend, and another occupant filmed it.

• Pandit's statement: Speaking to The Indian Express, Pandit confirmed the video is from 24 July near Hanuman Mandir. He claimed he acted because he heard people at the CJP protest were "abusing the Prime Minister and Lord Shri Ram." He added: "Chalo bhai kisi neta ko bhi gali sun lete, lekin koi agar hamare prabhu Shri Ram ko gali dega to hum nahi sunenge." (We can ignore abuses directed at politicians, but we will not tolerate anyone insulting our Lord Shri Ram.) He said he is prepared to face legal consequences if police act.

• Pandit's background: A final-year law student, Pandit has around six cases registered against him in Ghaziabad between 2022 and 2026, including assault on shopkeepers, vendors, a meat-shop owner, and hateful remarks against Bangladeshis. In a recent video he demanded Uttar Pradesh Police avoid deploying Muslim officers for Kanwar Yatra duty.

• Delhi Police response: Delhi Police told The Indian Express they have not received any formal complaint regarding the incident but are verifying the authenticity of the viral video.

• Political reaction: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) on 25 July, criticising the incident and the BJP.

What remains unverified

• Whether a formal FIR will be registered — police confirmation is limited to "verifying the video" and noting no complaint has been filed yet.
• The exact sequence of events before the camera started recording (any verbal exchange or provocation off-camera).
• Whether the two students have filed or intend to file a police complaint in Delhi or Bareilly.
• Pandit's claim that protesters were raising "anti-national slogans" or abusing religious figures at the CJP site — no independent verification of this allegation from the protest site on 24 July.

Context

The CJP-led student protest at Jantar Mantar, sparked by the NEET-UG paper-leak controversy, ran from 20–26 July and ended after the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protest saw multiple confrontations, including an earlier incident where ADCP Sandeep Lamba was removed from duty after a video showed him allegedly slapping a female protester (22 July). The Pandit video surfaced after the protest had concluded, drawing renewed attention to the safety of student demonstrators in the capital.

This report is based on the Indian Express story dated 27 July 2026 by Alok Singh. Unconfirmed claims are marked accordingly.