The police on Monday took Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar to the CM House to recreate the scene of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal’s alleged assault.
A senior police officer said Mr. Kumar was taken to the Chief Minister’s residence to corroborate his version of the incident.
The police action came a day after they seized a digital video recorder from the Chief Minister’s house as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Ms. Maliwal took to X, saying until she filed a complaint against Mr. Kumar, she was in the good books of AAP leaders and now she is being called a BJP “agent”.
Ms. Maliwal also junked the charge that she was blackmailed into defaming Mr. Kejriwal by a “threat” to have a corruption case opened against her.
She said the proceedings in the case being referred to have been stayed for over a year now as no evidence could be found against her. “Despite the case, the L-G and the CM made me the DCW [Delhi Commission for Women] chief multiple times in the past,” she added.
Mr. Kumar was arrested on May 18 after Ms. Maliwal lodged a formal complaint with the police that she was assaulted by him at the Chief Minister’s residence, where she had gone to meet Mr. Kejriwal.
He has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections related to assault, criminal intimidation and outraging a woman’s modesty. On Saturday, the court had sent him to five-day police custody.
AAP has accused the police of acting at the behest of the BJP to defame Mr. Kejriwal. The BJP has denied the charge, saying Mr. Kejriwal’s insistence on sending a “top lawyer” to the Rajya Sabha from Delhi triggered the episode that resulted in the assault case.
Published - May 21, 2024 02:09 am IST
