Swati Maliwal Alleged Assault: CM Kejriwal’s Aide Sent to Police Remand for 5 Days; AAP’s Protest Against Arrest Thwarted Near BJP HQ

New Delhi: The case involving alleged assault on Swati Maliwal, former chairperson of the Delhi Commission of Woman and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Rajya Sabha MP, is only getting complicated day by day.

A day after he was arrested by the Delhi Police, a city court on May 19 rejected the anticipatory bail application of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar, who is the accused in the case, and remanded him to five days in the investigators’ custody.

The police had initially sought a seven-day custody to interrogate him. The police informed the court that his anticipatory bail had become “infructuous” following his arrest.

In her first information report (FIR), Maliwal has accused Kumar of kicking, slapping and tearing her clothes at the chief minister’s official residence. She alleged while she was being hit with “full force again and again”, no one came to her rescue.

Maliwal further alleged that the CCTV cameras installed at Kejriwal’s residence were being tampered with, after the party released new video recordings claiming that she is “putting up a show” in front of the media. 

The AAP has alleged that the BJP is “blackmailing” the party MP as part of the “conspiracy” against the chief minister.

The police have seized the CCTV DVR (digital video recorder) from the chief minister’s residence to review footage from May 13. This is the date on which Maliwal alleges that Kumar assaulted her.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal, along with his party leaders, organized a march towards the BJP headquarters in Delhi, offering arrests of all of them. This demonstration was in protest against the arrest of Kumar, who was Kejriwal’s personal assistant.

Before the march commenced, Kejriwal made a public announcement, detailing his plan. He stated that they intended to sit outside the BJP headquarters for approximately half an hour to see if the authorities would arrest all the AAP leaders.

However, AAP leaders faced several barriers and stopped from reaching the BJP headquarters. They were only able to stage their protest near Rouse Avenue.

During the protest, prominent AAP leaders voiced their grievances. Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi alleged, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, are frightened of Kejriwal. That is why they are arresting our leaders one by one. Arvind Kejriwal challenged them to arrest all our leaders, but they did not. PM Modi was defeated and could not do anything in this half hour.”

Even though the party is claiming the whole situation to be another ploy to undermine them and Kejriwal, the medicolegal report issued by the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), where Maliwal was examined following her police complaint, released on May 18 states that she sustained two visible injuries.

The report detailed that Maliwal had “bruises on the proximal left leg, measuring approximately 3×2 cm, and on the right cheek below the eye, measuring about 2×2 cm”.

It further said she complained of being “slapped multiple times, after which she was pushed, causing her head to hit a hard object”. She reportedly fell to the floor and was then kicked multiple times on her chest, abdomen and pelvis”.

AAP Calls Allegation BJP’s Ploy

As the incidents unfolded, Atishi held a press conference the next day and dismissed the allegations, describing it a “conspiracy orchestrated by the BJP to tarnish Kejriwal's reputation”.

Even though the MP claimed to have endured the violence on May 13 at the chief minister’s Civil Lines residence, she lodged an FIR three days later.

She then recorded her statement in the presence of two senior police officials. Following this, the police charged Kumar under IPC sections related to assault, criminal intimidation and outraging a woman’s modesty.

According to a report by The Hindu, Maliwal had gone to the CM’s residence to meet him and tried contacting Kumar but received no response. She informed the staff of her presence and waited in the drawing room.

While waiting, Kumar allegedly entered the room abruptly and began verbally abusing her.