The Delhi Police have booked Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for allegedly assaulting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the Chief Minister's residence.
The First Information Report (FIR) against Kumar has been filed under IPC 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 had called the police control room on May 15, alleging that she was assaulted by Kumar when she went to meet Kejriwal at his residence. According to the complaint filed by Maliwal, Kumar allegedly slapped her multiple times, hit her chest, stomach, and sensitive parts, and threatened her, as reported by NDTV.
"Bibhav came and started abusing and kept slapping without provocation," Maliwal claimed. "I made noise and said 'Let me go', but he kept beating me continuously and abusing me in Hindi. He threatened, 'We will see, we will deal with it'. I informed him that I was menstruating and in considerable pain, begging him to leave me alone."
"I felt absolutely shocked and was screaming for help over and over again. In order to protect myself, I pushed him away with my legs. At that time, he pounced on me, brutally dragged and deliberately pulled my shirt up," the FIR reads . "After that, Bibhav Kumar did not relent and attacked me by kicking me in my chest, stomach and pelvis area with his legs.
In a social media post in Hindi, Maliwal wrote, “What happened to me was very bad. I have given my statement to the police. I hope appropriate action will be taken. The last few days have been very difficult for me. I thank those who prayed for me. Those who tried to carry out character assassination, who said I was doing it on the instructions of another party, may God keep them happy too.”
“An important election is going on in the country. Swati Maliwal is not important, the issues of the country are important. I specially request those with the BJP not to politicise this incident,” she added.
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The crisis for the AAP come as Kejriwal is out on interim bail until June 1 in the Delhi excise policy case, granted by the Supreme Court to allow him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh acknowledged in a press conference that Kumar had "misbehaved" with Maliwal and said that Kejriwal had directed strict action against his long-time aide.
The AAP is part of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, formed to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats will vote in the fifth phase of the election on May 25. In the last election, the BJP won all seven seats.
