Bibhav Kumar, personal assistant of Aam Aadmi Paty’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is charged with assaulting the party’s Rajya Sabha member. He is currently in police custody and now Swati Maliwal has broken down during the hearing of the case in the national capital’s Tis Hazari court and levelled several allegations against the AAP supremo and his PA.
She charged that AAP workers and a YouTuber (Dhruv Rathee) uploaded a biased video without considering her side of the matter after which she has been receiving multiple rape and death threats. Furthermore, Swati Maliwal voiced that she and her family are in danger from Bibhav Kumar. She stated, “After this incident, I was repeatedly called a BJP agent. They have an army of trolls. The party has unleashed its entire might against me. There were constant press conferences against me. Bibhav Kumar is no ordinary man. If he comes out of jail, then it would be a risk to me and my family’s safety.”
Swati Maliwal expressed, “I was brutally assaulted. I filed a complaint. My party arranged press conferences and labelled me a BJP agent. The accused was being taken to Lucknow and other locations by the man in whose residence I was beaten. They have a very large machinery including trolls at their disposal and they have turned all of it against me.” According to her, Bibhav Kumar is not an average PA and enjoys the facilities that even ministers do not receive. She reiterated, “They have a huge troll machinery. All party leaders have been warned not to join me so I am compelled to withdraw my complaint. My family and I are traumatized.”
In court, Bhibhav Kumar, arrested for assaulting Swati Maliwal said that Swati had trespassed into the home of the Chief Minister without an appointment. He further said in court that the injuries of Swati Maliwal are not serious and the ‘wounds can even be self-inflicted’.
Bibhav Kumar was arrested on 18th May from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence after Swati Maliwal who is also the former chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women submitted a complaint that she was intimidated and thrashed by him with “full force, slapping and kicking in the chest and abdomen” and her clothes were also ripped. Afterwards, Delhi Ministers Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj addressed press conferences in support of the accused and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for conspiring against Arvind Kejriwal with the help of Swati Maliwal.
Notably, AAP senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had already confirmed the assault and unveiled,” Yesterday, a condemnable incident took place. Swati Maliwal had gone to Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to meet him. While she was waiting for him in the drawing room, Vaibhav Kumar allegedly misbehaved with her. The CM has taken cognisance of the matter, and he will take appropriate action,” and assured that the party was with her. He added that Arvind Kejriwal also took cognisance of the matter and would take appropriate action against the accused.
On 26th May Swati Maliwal called out YouTuber and AAP loyalist Dhruv Rathee for making a one-sided video regarding the incident. She disclosed that she was already receiving rape and death threats and the YouTuber’s video painted a bigger target on her back. She highlighted, “I tried my best to reach out to him to tell him my version but he ignored my calls and messages. It is shameful that people like him, who claim to be independent journalists could act like other AAP spokespersons and victim-shame me to the extent that I am now facing extreme abuses and threats.” She pointed out that the party’s leadership was intimidating her into taking back the complaint she had registered.
