A video showing Swatantra Bhardwaj making threatening remarks against Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad is circulating on social media with a misleading claim about when it was recorded.
Social media users are sharing the 1-minute-16-second video while claiming that Bhardwaj recorded it after he was released from Tihar Jail on September 17.
However, the video was available online well before his release.
What is the claim?
The viral video shows Bhardwaj with another person who praises his release and compares him to a lion. Bhardwaj then makes remarks threatening those who allegedly attacked his supporters while he was in custody.
An X user shared the video claiming that Bhardwaj had made the remarks immediately after coming out of jail and linked the video to his release.
Similar claims were also shared by other social media users.
What is the fact?
The claim is misleading.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video found earlier versions of the same footage online.
One version was uploaded to YouTube as early as September 7, 2026, several days before Bhardwaj was released from Tihar Jail.
More importantly, another version of the same video was uploaded by an Instagram user on June 26, 2026.
This establishes that the video existed months before Bhardwaj’s September 17 release.
Video predates his release
Bhardwaj was released from Tihar Jail late on September 17 after a Delhi court granted him three weeks of interim bail.
He had been in jail in connection with a case relating to the alleged assault of the father of a student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Since the same video was already available online on June 26, it could not have been recorded after his release on September 17.
The footage has therefore been shared without its original context and wrongly connected to his release from jail.
A reverse image search on frames were taken from the viral video. The search found the same footage on multiple platforms. An earlier version was found on YouTube from September 7, while another version was traced to an Instagram upload dated June 26.
The earlier uploads provide a clear timeline showing that the video predates Bhardwaj’s release.
Claim: The video shows Swatantra Bhardwaj threatening Chandrashekhar Azad immediately after his release from Tihar Jail on September 17.
Fact: The video was available online months before his release. An identical version was uploaded on June 26, 2026.
The video is real, but its timing has been falsely presented. It was not recorded after Bhardwaj’s September 17 release, based on the earlier versions found online.
