Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on interim bail in the liquor policy case, is set to hold a protest on Sunday outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi against the arrest of his close aide Bibhav Kumar.
Kumar, Kejriwal’s right-hand man, was detained and later arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the CM’s residence. Kejriwal alleged that Maliwal was “blackmailed” by the BJP to become part of a “conspiracy” against him as she faces a corruption case and that the BJP wants to send party MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to prison too.
Delhi police sought 7-day custody for Kumar while his lawyer has accused the police of twisting the facts in the case. The Delhi court reserved the order on his remand.
Swati Maliwal 'Assault' Case | Key Points
Bibhav Kumar Arrested: The Delhi police on May 18 arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar in connection with an alleged assault case on Swati Maliwal (May 13). Hours before his arrest, a court dismissed the anticipatory bail plea filed by Kumar who too has lodged a complaint against Maliwal for gaining “unauthorised entry” into the CM’s residence and verbally abusing him.
AAP Shares CCTV Footage: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday released a CCTV video showing Swati Maliwal amid the massive row. The purported video shows Swati Maliwal being escorted by security personnel out of the chief minister's house. The AAP claims in the video that Maliwal could be seen walking calmly with the security personnel on May 13, without any limp. In another video, AAP claims she appears to be limping. The party has accused Maliwal of "acting to limp" four days after the incident.
Delhi Cops Say CCTV Footage May Have Been Tampered With: The CCTV footage of the May 13 incident, in which AAP MP Swati Maliwal was allegedly assaulted at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, may have been tampered by main accused Bibhav Kumar to destroy evidence, Delhi Police have said. In its remand note, police have said a portion of the footage from CCTV cameras at the Chief Minister's residence is showing blank.
Maliwal's Assault Allegation: According to the FIR, Maliwal claimed: "He (Bibhav Kumar) slapped me 7-8 times at least while I continued screaming. I pushed him away to protect myself. At that time he pounced on me, brutally dragged me and deliberately pulled my shirt up." Maliwal claimed that the brutal assault by Bibhav did not stop even after she mentioned that she was on her periods. "Bibhav Kumar did not relent and attacked me by kicking me repeatedly in my chest, stomach and pelvic area with his legs. I was in extreme pain and kept telling him to stop," Maliwal said.
Bibhav Kumar’s Counter Allegations On Maliwal: Meanwhile, Bibhav Kumar has filed a counter-complaint with the Civil Lines police station, alleging that Maliwal had "forcefully and unauthorisedly" entered the Chief Minister's residence. In his complaint, Kumar claims that when Maliwal “started walking from the drawing room towards the inner part of the CM residence”, he “apprehended that her motives were suspect and she intended to harm the CM.” “So the complainant strongly objected to her trying to gain forceful entry into the inner parts of the residence and stood in front of her to prevent the same. This infuriated Maliwal, who pushed the complainant,” he claimed, adding that she threatened to frame him in a false case.
