On 23rd May, News Agency ANI published an excerpt of the interview with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal where she described the ordeal of 13th May. In the Podcast with Smita Prakash, Swati said that she went to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house on the morning of 13th May at 9 AM to meet him.
EP-179 with Swati Maliwal | Full Interview to be played out at 4 pm to all ANI agency subscribers. (Digital rights cleared)
— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2024
"Not giving clean-chit to anyone…Kejriwal was at home…" Swati Maliwal recounts her ordeal of May 13#ANIpodcast #SwatiMaliwal #ArvindKejriwal #AAP pic.twitter.com/ZJQPIBwzcZ
The staff directed her to the drawing room and told her that Kejriwal was at home. They informed her he would be coming out soon to meet her. Maliwal said, “Soon after that, his former personal secretary Bibhav Kumar came barging into the drawing room. I asked him what happened. I informed him that Arvind Ji was coming and again asked what happened.”
By the time she completed her sentence, Kumar allegedly slapped her. She added, “He slapped me 7-8 times with full force. When I tried to push him, he grabbed my foot and pulled me to the floor. Amidst all this, my head hit the centre table. I was on the floor when he started kicking me. I was screaming and seeking help but no one came out.”
When Smita asked how was it possible that no one came out to help her, she said, “What all happened was very strange. I was screaming aloud. The truth is no one came out to help me.”
Swati asserted that Bibhav alone could not act the way he did and someone would have instructed him to do so but that is a matter of investigation. “I am cooperating with the Delhi Police in the investigation. I am not giving clean chit to anyone. The fact is, I was in the drawing room. Arvind Ji was at home. And I was mercilessly assaulted. I was screaming for help but no one came.”
“I did not think what would happen to me. What would happen to my career? What these people would do to me? The only thing I was thinking is that what I have told every woman, is that you should stand with the truth and tell the world exactly what happened with you, then today, how can I step back from fighting.”
Swati Maliwal Assault Case
On 13th May, the for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief, current Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal accused the former Personal secretary of Arvind Kejriwal of assaulting her. In her complaint, Maliwal has alleged that Kejriwal’s personal Secretary Bibhav 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. According to the Delhi Police FIR, Maliwal described the events of May 13 when she had gone to the Civil Lines residence of Chief Minister Kejriwal. The Delhi Police have arrested Kumar in this case.
In Kumar’s remand application, Delhi Police submitted that the attack on the AAP MP could have been fatal.
The Police also mentioned in their remand request that Bibhav Kumar admitted to formatting his Apple iPhone 15, and the phone needs to be taken to Mumbai to recover the data, for which his police remand was needed. Notably, as per the Police, CCTV footage from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence during the period of assault on May 13 has turned out to be blank. It was also reported earlier that Delhi Police may add a destruction of evidence charge against Bibhav Kumar for deleting CCTV footage and formatting the phone.
Meanwhile, as the entire Aam Aadmi Party, except DCW member Vandana Singh, has started a campaign against Maliwal calling her allegations “false” and labelling her a “traitor and a BJP agent”, she recently warned her party against using such tags for her stating that she will take Kejriwal and company to court for every lie spread against her.
