The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested Bibhav Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide and former personal assistant, for allegedly assaulting Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, reported The Indian Express.
On Monday, Maliwal, former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, accused Kumar of assaulting her and went to the police station. However, the police did not receive a formal complaint from her.
A day later, the Aam Aadmi Party said it would take strict action against Kumar for allegedly “misbehaving” with Maliwal. Party leader Sanjay Singh had said that Kejriwal had acknowledged the incident.
The police registered a first information report against Kumar on Thursday. He was booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force on woman with intent to disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
Maliwal was also taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for a medical check-up during the day.
On Saturday, the Rajya Sabha MP’s case sheet from the hospital indicated that she had suffered bruises on her left thigh and below the eye on the right cheek, The Indian Express reported.
“She [Maliwal] had bruises over the proximal left leg dorsal aspect of approx size 3×2 cm and right cheek elbow below right eye of approx size 2×2 cm,” the report said, according to the newspaper.
It also said that Maliwal had complained of being slapped multiple times before she was pushed and hit her head on a hard object. “She fell on the floor and after that she was hit multiple times by legs over chest, abdomen and pelvis,” the report said.
After Kumar was detained, his counsel Karan Sharma said they were yet to receive any information from the police. “We have sent them an email that we will cooperate in the investigation,” Sharma was quoted as saying by ANI.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday changed its stance on the incident and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using Maliwal in the assault case against Kumar to defame Kejriwal.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi accused Maliwal of colluding with the BJP, citing as evidence a video widely shared on social media.
“The video shows her threatening Kumar,” Atishi said at a press conference on Friday. “The charges levelled by Maliwal are baseless.”
Atishi also said that Singh only knew Maliwal’s version of the incident when he had said on Tuesday that Kumar had misbehaved with her. “But now Sanjay Singh is also aware of Bibhav Kumar’s statement, and most importantly this video has come up which makes it clear that the allegations made in the complaint are false,” Atishi added.
Following Atishi’s press conference, Maliwal said that the Aam Aadmi Party has chosen to side with a “goon” instead of her.
“The leaders who joined the party yesterday declared a 20-year worker as a BJP agent,” Maliwal said in a social media post. “Two days ago, the party had accepted the truth in the PC [press conference] and today it has taken a U-turn.”
Maliwal alleged that Kumar is threatening the Aam Aadmi Party by saying that he will reveal all secrets if he gets arrested in the case.
The development comes days after the Supreme Court granted the chief minister bail till June 1 in the liquor policy case. The Aam Aadmi Party chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 for his alleged role in the case.
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