Swati Maliwal 'Assault' Case: Bibhav Sent To 5-Day Police Custody, Kejriwal To Lead Protest March To BJP HQ — Top Points

Swati Maliwal Assault Case: The AAP alleged Maliwal was "blackmailed" by the BJP to become part of a "conspiracy" against Kejriwal as she faces a corruption case.

AAP MPs and MLAs, led by Delhi CM Kejriwal, are set to march to the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday. ( Image Source :PTI/Getty )

Swati Maliwal Assault Case: A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence, the party MPs and MLAs, led by the Delhi CM, are set to march to the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday.

The AAP alleged Maliwal was "blackmailed" by the BJP to become part of a "conspiracy" against Kejriwal as she faces a corruption case and that the saffron party wants to send party MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to prison too, as reported by news agency PTI.

Following his arrest, Bibhav Kumar was sent to 5 day custody by Delhi's Tis Hazari Court. “After considering all aspects, Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) granted five-day police custody remand. One of the grounds was that he has to be taken to Mumbai,” Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava said, as quoted by PTI.

Here Are Top Points

1. The BJP accused AAP of resorting to victim-shaming and victim-blaming with its brazen defence of Bibhav Kumar. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Kejriwal and alleged that the Delhi CM is trying to protect Kumar as his aide is in a position to expose the chief minister's damaging "secrets".
2. Maliwal claimed that the CCTV footage of the May 13 incident where she was allegedly assaulted at Kejriwal's residence has "disappeared" and edited videos were being released.
3. In a post on X in Hindi, "First I was thrashed brutally by Bibhav. He slapped and kicked me. When I freed myself and called 112, he went outside, called security personnel and started making a video. I was shouting and telling the security that Bibhav has thrashed me brutally. That long portion of the video has been edited. Only a 50-second video was released when I was fed up of telling the security. Now the phone has been formatted and the full video deleted? The CCTV footage has also disappeared. This is the height of conspiracy".
4. The Delhi Police in its remand paper submitted late Saturday evening seeking seven days custody of Kumar said that it was a "serious case" where the "brutal assault" could have turned "fatal", as reported by PTI.
5. Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal, who sent Kumar to five-day police custody, was told by the investigating agency that he did not cooperate with the police and had been evasive in his replies.
6. On Saturday, Kumar was arrested from the chief minister's residence by a Delhi police team, a senior police officer said, PTI reported. He further stated that they suspected that he had come to tamper with evidence.
7. Later in the night, Kumar was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal who sent him to a five-day police custody after the police sought his remand to question him about the incident and to retrieve data from his phone, PTI reported.
8. Speaking at a press conference hours after Kumar's arrest, Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "playing the game" of sending AAP leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Sanjay Singh to jail. "They are after our party and sending our leaders in jail one after another... Today you have sent my PA to jail," he said, as quoted by PTI. He further said the saffron party is saying they will send AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj to jail too.
9. Former DCW chief Maliwal had recorded her statement before a magistrate at the Tis Hazari court on Friday. The Rajya Sabha MP has alleged that the CM's aide attacked her with full force, slapping her in the face and kicking her in the chest and abdomen on May 13 when she had gone to meet the chief minister. Her medical examination was conducted at the AIIMS on Friday.
10. According to the medico-legal certificate (MLC), she has "bruises over proximal left leg dorsal aspect of approx size 3x2 cm and right cheek elbow below right eye of approx size 2x2 cm," as quoted by PTI. The officer stated that Kumar had gone to CM's residence on Saturday morning to meet Kejriwal.
11. Police said they have recorded the statement of at least 10 people, including security personnel and other staff at the chief minister's residence, who were present at the time of the alleged assault on May 13.
12. According to a police officer, Kumar was interrogated about the reason he went to the CM's house on Saturday morning.
13. Police stated that they recorded the statements of at least 10 people, including security personnel and other staff at the chief minister's residence, who were present at the time of the alleged assault on May 13, as reported by PTI.
14. According to a police officer, Kumar was interrogated to find out the reason for his visit to Kejriwal’s house on Saturday morning. According to PTI, the police suspect that he might have come to tamper with the evidence.
15. "As soon as they got to know about the presence of Kumar at the CM's residence on Saturday morning, a team from the local police station was sent to nab him," the officer said, as quoted by PTI. They also asked Kumar about his whereabouts at the time of the filing of the FIR against him on Thursday.
16. The police also asked him about Kejriwal's presence at his home on the day of the incident.
17. Meanwhile, a city court ruled the anticipatory bail plea of Kumar has become infructuous as he has already been arrested.
18. On Friday, Bibhav Kumar filed a police complaint, alleging that the former DCW chief breached the security of the CM's residence to gain unauthorised entry on May 13 and created a ruckus there. The CM's aide also alleged that when he tried to stop her, she hurled abuses at him.