Swati Maliwal
AAP leader Swati Maliwal has lodged a serious complaint against Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of assault. The incident allegedly occurred on Monday morning in the drawing room of the Chief Minister’s official residence, with Mr. Kejriwal present in the house at the time.
In the FIR filed last night, Ms. Maliwal detailed that she arrived at Mr. Kejriwal’s residence at 6, Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines, and attempted to contact Mr. Kumar without success. After informing the staff of her presence, she was asked to wait in the drawing room.
While waiting, Ms. Maliwal alleges that Mr. Kumar entered the room, verbally abused her, and proceeded to physically assault her. She claimed Mr. Kumar slapped her multiple times on the face and hit her chest, stomach, and sensitive areas. “Bibhav came and started abusing and kept slapping without provocation,” Ms. Maliwal stated 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.”
Ms. Maliwal described her distress, stating she was screaming for help and tried to protect herself by pushing Mr. Kumar away with her legs. She alleges that he then pounced on her, dragged her, and deliberately pulled her shirt up. “Bibhav Kumar did not relent and attacked me by kicking me in my chest, stomach, and pelvis area with his legs,” she added.
Ms. Maliwal managed to escape the house and called the police. “I was in a terrible state of shock at this attack. I was deeply traumatised and called the 112 number and reported the incident,” she stated in the FIR.
When security personnel arrived, instead of assisting her, they allegedly followed Mr. Kumar’s instructions to remove her from the premises. Despite her condition, she was forced to wait outside the Chief Minister’s residence until the police arrived.
“Bibhav came back with the security personnel working at the main gate. I kept telling them that I was brutally beaten up and they should look at my condition and wait until the police come, but they asked me to leave the premises,” Ms. Maliwal’s statement reads.
Late last night, Delhi Police escorted Ms. Maliwal to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for a medical checkup. When police reached Mr. Kumar’s residence in Chandrawal Nagar, he was missing. Teams from the Crime Branch and Special Cell are actively searching for him to bring him into custody.
The Delhi Police have registered an FIR 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.
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The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken notice of the incident, summoning Mr. Kumar for a hearing today.
Following the police visit, Ms. Maliwal posted on social media about the distressing experience and appealed against politicizing 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.
