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‘I was kicked, slapped, dragged’: Swati Maliwal accuses Bibhav in FIR
AAP member Swati Maliwal alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar, assaulted her at CM's residence. FIR filed for assault, outrage of modesty.
Bibhav Kumar, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, allegedly screamed at Swati Maliwal “without any provocation” before slapping the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member 7-8 times and kicking her in her chest, stomach, and pelvis, according to the first information report (FIR) filed by the former Delhi Commission for Women chief.
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The FIR, a copy of which HT has seen, said Kumar allegedly dragged Maliwal and her shirt was pulled up as well as she screamed for help. The case was registered after a two-member police team visited Maliwal’s official residence at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg and recorded her statement on Thursday.
In her two-page statement, Maliwal accused Bibhav of “outraging her modesty, slapping and kicking her, and threatening” her at CM’s residence at Civil Lines on Monday morning, one of the officers said, asking not to be named.
Maliwal said she went to meet Kejriwal around 9am on May 13 and was informed he was home and that she should wait in the drawing room. “Suddenly... Kumar barged into the room. He started screaming at me without any provocation. He even started abusing me. I was stunned by his reaction... I reacted by telling him to stop talking to me like this and call the CM,” she said in the FIR.
Kumar allegedly shouted and told her “How will you not listen to me?... What is your standing?” Maliwal said Kumar started slapping her while she continued screaming. She added she was shocked and screamed for help. Maliwal said she pushed Kumar to protect herself.
“He then abused me and asked who are you to not listen to what I say. While saying these words, he came and stood right in front of me. Without any provocation whatsoever on my side, he started slapping me with full force. He slapped me seven to eight times at least while I continued screaming. 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,” she said.
She alleged that she hit her head on the centre table but Kumar continued the assault her. Maliwal said she eventually managed to sit on a sofa and call the police even as Kumar allegedly told her she could do what she wanted but nothing would happen and also allegedly threatened to get her killed.
“I repeatedly told him that I was on my period and that he should please let go of me as I was in unbearable pain. However, he attacked me with full force again and again. I somehow managed to get free. I then sat on the sofa of the drawing room and gathered my spectacles that had fallen on the ground during the assault. I was in a terrible state of shock at this attack. I was deeply traumatised and called the 112 number and reported the crime against me,” Maliwal said.
She added she was later taken to the chief minister’s camp office, where she told the staff about the ordeal but was asked to leave. Maliwal said she sat outside the chief minister’s house before going to the Civil Lines police station but left without stating because of the “trauma”.
“The past few days since the incident have been extremely painful for me. It is one of the most difficult times of my life. The pain, trauma and harassment has been mind-numbing. My head and neck has been hurting constantly since the attack. My arms are very sore and my abdomen is also paining. I am also having difficulty in walking. My situation is exacerbated by the fact that having worked all my life for women’s issues and having helped lakhs of women get justice, I ended up being brutally beaten by a person whom I had known for long. I am deeply disturbed by this incident and am distraught that someone could display such goonda behaviour. I feel totally shattered,” she said.
The Delhi Police on Thursday registered the FIR at Civil Lines police station under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 354 (assault or criminal force with the intent to outrage modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
On Thursday around 2pm, additional commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah and additional deputy commissioner of police (north) Anjitha Chepyala visited Maliwal’s residence to record her statement.
Meanwhile, a team of the Delhi Police on Friday took Maliwal to the Kejriwal’s residence to “recreate the crime scene”.
According to a senior police officer, Maliwal was brought to the residence around 6.15pm amid heavy police presence and was escorted out shortly after 7pm. “She was taken to the scene where she along with the team stayed for around 40 minutes,” an officer aware of the matter said.
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Around 4.30pm, two teams of Delhi Police including a forensic, went to the CM’s residence to investigate the matter. Another team went inside shortly after. One of the three teams then left the premises around 7.30pm while two stayed till late on Friday. “The team questioned who was on duty on the day of the incident to ascertain the sequence of events,” the officer added.
In the evening, the AAP disputed Maliwal’s version of events and alleged she was part of a conspiracy. Hours later, she hit back, saying the party was trying to save a goon. :I have been fighting alone for the women of the entire country, I will fight for myself too. Do character assassination as much as possible, the truth will come out when the time comes,” she posted on X.
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