Swati Maliwal recounts ‘brutal assault’; BJP agent: AAP

‘I was kicked, slapped, dragged’: Swati Maliwal accuses Bibhav in FIR

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Maliwal filed a first information report (FIR) where she alleged that Kumar slapped her 7-8 times without any provocation at the chief minister’s residence when she went to meet Kejriwal on Monday, pounced on her, kicked her chest and pelvis, and deliberately pulled up her shirt.

But in the evening, the party pointed towards an unverified but viral video clip that purportedly showed Maliwal sitting on a sofa in the drawing room of the CM’s residence, and talking in a raised voice to some security personnel nearby. HT could not independently verify the clip.

The AAP alleged that no visible injuries were seen on her and that she didn’t detail any assault to the security people even as she “abused” them and said that she had called the police. “This was a BJP conspiracy,” said senior minister Atishi at a press briefing.

She also disputed the timelines in the FIR and said that Kumar — who travelled with the CM to Mumbai on Friday — had filed a counter police complaint.

“In her complaint to the police, she said she was assaulted. The video which has come out today shows her sitting comfortably in the drawing room and threatening the police officials. She was also seen threatening Bibhav Kumar and using abusive language in the video. Neither her clothes were torn nor any injury on her head can be seen in the video,” Atishi said.

This is the first time that the party has openly dismissed Maliwal’s allegations as false and called her a pawn in a political conspiracy. Earlier in the week, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh had supported Maliwal — once a firebrand leader of the AAP who was considered close to the leadership — and named Kumar as the man who misbehaved with the Rajya Sabha MP. But on Friday, the party backed away from Singh’s earlier statement, saying he spoke on the basis of only a partial knowledge of the incident.

“The truth will be revealed to everyone as soon as the CCTV footage of the house and the room is checked,” Maliwal retorted soon after, appearing to call Kumar a “political hitman”.

‘Swati Maliwal barged in, abused Delhi CM staff’: Bibhav Kumar’s charges

The dramatic sequence of events that engulfed the party since the allegations first surfaced earlier this week are playing out against the backdrop of the Lok Sabha poll campaign in Delhi and Punjab, two states where Kejriwal, out on bail after spending 50 days in jail in connection with an excise policy case, is heavily campaigning. The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, attacked Kejriwal over the row even as the AAP’s allies in the INDIA bloc remained silent.

Kumar was on Thursday booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the FIR, which was registered at the Civil Lines police station. The case was registered after a two-member police team visited Maliwal’s home on Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg and recorded her statement over four-and-a-half-hours.

The saga began on Monday, when Maliwal — recently back after weeks in the US — went to the chief minister’s residence. Around 9.30am, Maliwal, who is the former chief of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), called the police and said she was being “manhandled” by Kumar. She visited the Civil Lines police station, but left saying she would file a complaint later.

In her FIR, Maliwal alleged that Kumar “slapped” her “at least seven to eight times” while she “continued screaming” and “brutally dragged” her while “kicking” her in her “chest, stomach and pelvis area”.

Maliwal recorded her statement before the magistrate in the Tis Hazari court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on Friday.

“He [Kumar] 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.

“At that time, he pounced on me, brutally dragged me and deliberately pulled my shirt up. My shirt buttons opened and my shirt flew up. I landed on the floor while hitting my head on the centre table. I was constantly screaming for help but no one came. After that, Bibhav Kumar did not relent and attacked me by kicking me in my chest, stomach and pelvis area with his legs. I was in extreme pain and kept telling him to stop. My shirt was coming up but he still continued to assault me,” the MP said.

But, in the evening, the party disputed the sequence of events using the viral clip where Maliwal can purportedly be heard saying that she had called the police and speaking in a raised voice to the security personnel, one of whom is a woman.

“Ever since Arvind Kejriwal has got bail, the BJP is rattled. Due to this, the BJP hatched a conspiracy, under which Swati Maliwal was sent to Arvind Kejriwal’s house on the morning of May 13. Swati Maliwal was the face and pawn of this conspiracy. She went there unannounced without an appointment. They intended to entrap the CM but the CM was not there at that time and he got saved,” Atishi said.

Atishi detailed the party’s version of the events. “Swati Maliwal without any appointment reached CM’s residence. When she was stopped and asked about the details of her visit, she said that there was a prior appointment with the CM. When security cross-checked her claims, it was found that there was no prior appointment. After which, Maliwal started threatening police officials and said she was a Rajya Sabha MP and could get them sacked,” Atishi said.

The minister alleged that Maliwal then forcibly entered the main building of the CM house and sat in the drawing room. “The residence staff called Bibhav Kumar. Kumar told him that CM won’t be able to meet you. Maliwal started shouting at him and she wanted to enter the other main parts of the residence to which Bibhav did not give permission. Maliwal started pushing him aside. Later, Bibhav Kumar called CM’s security and asked them to escort her. This was a BJP’s conspiracy,” she added.

When asked why Singh said on Wednesday that the party was with Maliwal, Atishi said that at that point, Singh was only aware of Maliwal’s version of events.

“Till that point, Sanjay Singh was only aware of Swati Maliwal’s side. Now he got to know about Bibhav Kumar’s side. The video which has surfaced clearly shows that what Maliwal mentioned in FIR are just mere false accusations. Her lies have come out in front of the whole country,” she said.

Maliwal attacked her own party. “The leaders who joined the party (AAP) yesterday declared a worker who has been with it for 20 years an agent of the BJP. Two days ago, the party had accepted the truth in a press conference and, today, it has taken a U-turn,” she said.

Swati Maliwal row: Bibhav Kumar files complaint against AAP MP in ‘assault’ case

“Today, under his pressure, the party gave in and to save a goon, my character was questioned by the entire party. No problem, I have been fighting alone for 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,” Maliwal said on X.

Delhi Police did not issue any official statement on the complaint or the proceedings.