Recounting her ordeal on May 13, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal has said she was slapped seven to eight times, dragged by her foot, and her head had hit the table when she was assaulted at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence by his personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar.
Ms Maliwal said she kept screaming throughout, but no one came to her rescue. “I am not giving a clean chit to anybody. Arvind Kejriwal was at home when the assault happened,” she told news agency ANI.
Mr Kumar has been arrested and is in police custody. The attack has also sparked a political firestorm, with the BJP attacking the Aam Aadmi Party and Mr Kejriwal – who is its convenor – and questioning their stance on the safety of women. The AAP has hit back, pointing to the alleged shielding of people like BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and also alleged that Ms Maliwal is “working for” the ruling party at the Centre.
Speaking to ANI, Ms Maliwal, who is a former chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, said she had gone to the chief minister’s residence at 9 am and staff members had asked her to wait in the drawing room.
“They told me Arvind ji is at home and is coming to meet me. In the meantime, Bibhav Kumar stormed into the room (“dhandhanate huye aate hai“) and I just asked him, ‘What happened? Arvind ji is coming, what happened?’ and he started attacking me. He slapped me hard seven to eight times. When I tried to push him, he held my foot and dragged me. My head hit the centre table,” the MP said in Hindi.
When she fell, Ms Maliwal claimed, he began kicking her. She said she kept screaming at the top of her voice, but no one came to her aid.
Asked whether she was claiming that Mr Kumar did what he did at someone’s instructions, Ms Maliwal said, “This is a matter of investigation and I am cooperating with the Delhi Police. At the same time, I am not giving anyone a clean chit. The fact is that I was in the drawing room, Arvind Kejriwal was at home and I was beaten up very badly. I screamed and shouted, but no one came.”
The MP said she did not think about her career or what she would have to go through before raising her voice.
“I just thought that I had to live by what I have always told women – that they should stand by the truth, make truthful complaints and fight if they have been wronged. So how can I not fight,” she asked.
‘Free And Fair Probe’
Reacting to Ms Maliwal’s claims, Mr Kejriwal had said on Wednesday that he wants a free and fair investigation, but had stressed that there are two versions to every event.
“…I expect there will be a fair investigation. Justice should be served. There are two versions of the event. Police should investigate both versions fairly and justice should be done,” the chief minister had said.
Ms Maliwal had hit back almost immediately and said it was ironic that the person who had “assassinated her character” and called her a “BJP agent” was now calling for a free and fair probe.
