Slapped 7-8 times, dragged and kicked in the chest – AAP leader Swati Maliwal has levelled serious allegations against Bibhav Kumar, an aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Ms Maliwal in her complaint has claimed that on Monday morning she was assaulted by Mr Kumar in the drawing room of Mr Kejriwal’s official residence, with the Chief Minister present in the house at the time.
Ms Maliwal detailed a harrowing account, accusing Mr Kumar of slapping her 7-8 times on the face and hitting her chest, stomach, and sensitive parts. “Bibhav came and started abusing and kept slapping without provocation,” Ms Maliwal claimed in her complaint. “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.”
Ms Maliwal added in her complaint that she managed to run out of the house and call the police.
“I was in a terrible state of shock at this ed attack. I was deeply traumatised and called the 112 number and reported the incident,” Mr Maliwal stated in the FIR.
Last night, Delhi Police escorted Ms Maliwal to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for a medical checkup. When the police reached Mr Kumar’s residence in the Chandrawal Nagar area of the national capital, they found that he was missing. Teams from the Crime Branch and Special Cell are actively searching for Mr Kumar, aiming to bring him into custody.
The Delhi Police registered an FIR at 8:50 pm last night under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, criminal intimidation, insulting modesty, and assault. The FIR was filed after Ms Maliwal’s statement was recorded by a police team led by Additional Commissioner PS Kushwaha.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also summoned Mr Kumar for a hearing today, taking suo moto cognisance of Ms Maliwal’s allegations.
In her complaint, Ms Maliwal refrained from directly accusing Mr Kejriwal of any wrongdoing but noted his presence at the residence during the incident. Following the police visit, Ms Maliwal posted on social media about the distressing experience and appealed against politicising the issue.
“What happened to me was very bad. I have given my statement to the police on the incident that happened to me. I hope that 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 do character assassination said that I was doing it on the instructions of a party. May God keep them happy too. An important election is underway in the country. Swati Maliwal is not important, the issues of the country are important. There is a special request to the BJP to not do politics on this incident,” Ms Maliwal posted last night.
The incident has triggered a political storm. The BJP has heavily criticised Mr Kejriwal for his silence, with its spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia even going as far as labelling Mr Kejriwal the “main criminal” due to his apparent inaction during the assault.
Mr Kejriwal deflected questions regarding the incident during a press conference in Lucknow yesterday, where he appeared alongside Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP MP Sanjay Singh. Mr Singh, addressing the press, acknowledged Mr Kumar’s misconduct and deflected criticism towards the BJP, demanding accountability for various women’s issues under their governance.
The Congress, allied with AAP in the opposition INDIA bloc for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, echoed similar calls.