In the recent incident held at the CM House, Maliwal alleges that she was assaulted by Kejriwal's personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, at the chief minister's residence on May 13. She claimed that Kumar kicked her in the chest, stomach, and pelvic area, and forcefully "dragged her and pulled her shirt up." Kumar has been arrested and remanded to the custody of the Delhi Police until Thursday.
Bibhav Kumar was arrested from Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Saturday (File)
The police took Bibhav Kumar, accused of assaulting AAP MP Swati Maliwal, to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence to recreate the alleged crime scene, an officer said. Mr. Kumar has been interrogated and the statements of around 20 people have been recorded in connection with the case, the Delhi Police officer said. The statements of the Chief Minister and his family may also be taken if required, he said.
On Saturday, Mr. Kejriwal's aide was arrested from the Chief Minister's residence and sent to five-day police custody. “A team of Delhi Police officers took him to the Chief Minister's residence to recreate the crime scene and corroborate the sequence of the incident around 5:45 pm. They remained there for almost an hour and later took him to his house, which is in the same area," the officer said. Swati Maliwal filed an FIR against Bibhav Kumar for allegedly assaulting her when she had gone to meet Mr. Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi's Civil Lines area on May 13. The Delhi Police later added another charge in the FIR - destruction of evidence, the officer said. During interrogation, the investigators asked Mr. Kumar why he had gone to the Chief Minister's house on May 18, five days after the alleged incident and the day he was arrested. He was also asked about his equation with Ms. Maliwal and why she was at Mr. Kejriwal's home on May 13, the officer said.
According to police, the statements of around 20 people, including the Delhi Police personnel who attended the PCR calls made by Ms. Maliwal from the Chief Minister's residence, have been recorded. This also includes some personnel posted at the Civil Lines police station, the police said.
The officer said there are a few more people whose statements are yet to be recorded. The investigators plan to take Mr. Kumar to Mumbai as they suspect he has dumped his phone data on another system before getting it formatted, the officer said.
Mr. Kumar's phone and the CCTV's DVR were recovered from Mr. Kejriwal's home and will be sent to the forensic laboratory for further examinations. Footage from eight CCTV cameras and DVRs were collected but some did not have videos of the incident, the officer said.
In an interview to PTI, the chief minister said the matter is currently “sub-judice” and his comment might affect the proceedings.
• The Civil Lines Police registered a case based on Swati Maliwal's complaint on Thursday, following the alleged assault. Officials have stated that the FIR has been filed against Kumar under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include:
- Section 354: Assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty.
- Section 506: Punishment for criminal intimidation.
- Section 509: Word, gesture, or act intended to insult.
- Section 323: Assault.
- Section 308: Attempt to commit culpable homicide.
- Section 341: Punishment for wrongful restraint.
- Section 354B: Assault or use of criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe.
