On July 24, Rashtriya Hindu Veer Sena chief Satyam Pandit, a resident of Ghaziabad, uploaded a video on his social media handle showing him harassing, abusing, and thrashing on two student protesters involved with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement. The caption of this video professed that he had travelled to Jantar Mantar to dole out “treatment” to some cockroaches, in what was evidently a veiled reference to violence. It said, “जंतर मंतर पर जाकर कुछ कॉकरोचों का इलाज करा जो कहते हैं करके दिखाते हैं #hindu #muslim #cockroachjantaparty #sanatan #bharat”.

Appearing on television interviews later, Pandit defended his act calling the CJP stir anti-national and anti-Hindu.

16 year old Ayush Ranjan — who was one of the youths heckled by Pandit and his associates — spoke up about the event. He had reportedly travelled all the way from UP’s Bareilly to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to stand in solidarity with student protesters on July 23. After taking shelter at a nearby gurudwara for the night, he had set out with his friend, Rahul Pal, early next morning to head back to Jantar Mantar, when they were accosted by members of the Rashtriya Hindu Veer Sena. Ayush claims that there were five other men involved with Satyam Pandit, who proceeded to harass and film them, besides beating up his friend. He added that they could not approach the police who were stationed nearby, fearing it would be met with inaction.

Following the incident, Satyam Pandit’s self-inspired act of vigilantism was severely condemned.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav shared the clip on X, and called for the accused to be arrested.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also amplified the clip, questioning how such “goons” were roaming freely in the national capital.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj on July 29 filed a complaint with the police. He noted that police could have taken suo motu cognizance of the incident, instead of waiting for an official complaint to be lodged against Pandit.

CJP Movement Anti-national, Anti-Hindu: Satyam Pandit

Appearing in an interview by Aaj Tak, Satyam Pandit appeared remorseless for his actions. According to him, the CJP movement had devolved into a hotbed of not only anti-national slogans and activities, but also “anti-Hindu” sentiments. At one point, he falsely claims that a female police officer had lost her life while warding off the violent protesters, before being corrected by his interlocutor. Speaking on what had transpired before the viral clip had been recorded, Pandit said that he had overheard a few young people making objectionable comments about the Hindu deity Ram near Jantar Mantar on that day. On coming back to the spot after a while, he found them present, and questioned them as to why they were saying such things. What followed after was recorded and uploaded by Pandit himself.

Pandit seemed to take brash pride in his actions. In the Aaj Tak interview, he goes as far as to welcome the prospect of having to face legal charges for his vigilantism, asserting: “Agar desh-virodhi gatividhi kahin bhi hote dekhenge, toh ham taiyyar hai. Hum har cheez ke liye taiyyar hai” (If we see anti-national activities taking place anywhere, we’re prepared for it. We’re prepared for anything of this sort).

During an interview with ANI, on July 27, Pandit remarked that anyone found insulting Hindu deities Ram, Sita, Prime Minister Modi, or UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, would be dished out a similar form of “treatment.” He remained brazenly unapologetic about the controversial video, claiming that he had no regrets about taking the law into his own hands in order to punish those who had insulted Hindu Gods.

 

Pandit was also interviewed by ABP News, in which he reiterated that if Hindu gods had been insulted, he would not wait around for due procedure of law. In this interview, he also resorts to a string of expletives and slurs to refer to Muslims, besides opining that the CJP movement did not comprise students, but terrorists, who wanted to break up the nation into pieces.

 

Times Now journalist Priyank Tripathi pressed Pandit in yet another interview, asking him if he felt any regret for his actions, to which the Rashtriya Hindu Veer Sena chief responded: “Hume garv hai humne ye kaam kara. Malaal kis baat ka hoga?” (I am proud of my actions. Why would I regret it?)

On July 27, Pandit uploaded a video on his Instagram handle (@satyam.pandat), where he attempted to clarify the events leading up to the incidents caught in the viral video. Here, he claims that the youths were allegedly under the influence of alcohol. According to Pandit, while roaming in the proximity of Jantar Mantar for an unspecified reason, he had spotted a group of young men consuming alcohol and making remarks about Hindu gods and goddesses. He advised them to leave, but upon coming back to the spot a while after, he allegedly found them in an intoxicated state, still engaged in disrespecting Hindu gods. This chain of events is what ostensibly led to Pandit’s violent retort.

 

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No Stranger to Controversy

Alt News found that Satyam Pandit’s legacy as a Hindutva leader is mired in a history of FIRs and arrests.

In August 2024, he was arrested after calling for the expulsion of “Rohingya Bangladeshis” from the country.

In February 2026, he was arrested after threatening to burn down a Muslim-owned non-vegetarian diner unless it was closed down within a minute, given that it was a Tuesday, considered holy for many North Indian Hindus.

As recently as July 20 this year, Satyam Pandit had sparked a controversy by exhorting the Uttar Pradesh government to disallow Muslim police officers and other government employees from being present during the Kanwar Yatra, which he deemed to be a holy event meant exclusively for Hindus.

 

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Satyam Pandit’s history of offences points to only one conclusion. Pandit often resorts to hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric, advocating for discrimination and violence toward minorities, especially Muslims. In the past, he has habitually used his platform to peddle hate under the pretext of speaking up for Hindu rights, often without any consequence. The Jantar Mantar episode, which shows him openly targetting and hitting student protesters, is but an outcome of this impunity.

Also, it is worth noting that the harassment and assault were recorded and shared online by the perpetrators themselves. In most circumstances, such footage — clearly depicting criminal acts — could serve as evidence against those involved. That it does not appear to act as a deterrent suggests how confident Pandit and his associates were about escaping any legal action. This raises the larger question — whether such brazenness stems from a belief that the state will not act against them, or may even be on their side. The criminal justice system rests on the premise that the state is on the side of the victims and seeks to hold perpetrators accountable.