(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) A day after the Delhi Police registered an FIR regarding the alleged assault on Swati Maliwal by an aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a video has surfaced showing the AAP Rajya Sabha MP struggling to walk after returning from AIIMS following her medical test. This has sparked a massive outcry on social media platforms.
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Swati Maliwal's 7-page complaint: Bibhav Kumar slapped her 5-6 times, assault on chest and lower body
Bibhav Kumar, the personal assistant to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has been named as an accused in the case, officials said. He has also been summoned by the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday regarding the matter.
The FIR was registered after a two-member team, led by Additional Commissioner of Police P.S. Kushwaha, recorded Swati Maliwal's statement. The team was at the Rajya Sabha member's residence in Central Delhi for nearly four and a half hours, starting around 1:50 pm.
Officials said the FIR has been registered at the Civil Lines police station against Bibhav Kumar under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult), and 323 (assault).
This development comes two days after Maliwal went to the police station and alleged that a member of Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Kejriwal's personal staff "assaulted" her at the CM's official residence.
According to the contents of the statement given by Maliwal to the police, an official source said, she was sitting in the drawing room when Kumar came and allegedly slapped her multiple times. Maliwal stated in her complaint that she ran out of the CM's residence and called the police, adding that Kejriwal was present at his residence when the incident took place.
An official said police took Maliwal for medical examination to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Thursday, following which the video of the AAP MP struggling to walk after returning home surfaced.
"How badly was she assaulted? This video of Swati Maliwal shows her struggling to walk to her gate, if this was a 'scuffle between 2 people' as AAP sympathisers claim, how is Bibhav doing just fine?" an irked netizen said on X, formerly Twitter.
Another user added, "Swati Maliwal returned from AIIMS after a medical test. Even after 4 days, she is struggling to walk. But here @ArvindKejriwal is giving paid tweets to journalists to defend Bibhav Kumar. Aisa koi saga nahi, jise Kejriwal ne thaga nahi!!"
A third user remarked, "Physical assault to this extent in Arvind Kejriwal's house that Swati Maliwal can't even walk properly? Kejriwal can't ensure security of own party's woman MP. How will he ensure safety of Delhi woman?"
On Thursday,
In a post on X after the police team left her house, Maliwal said she has recorded her statement with the Delhi Police on what happened with her and urged the BJP to not indulge in politics. "Hope appropriate action is taken. Whatever happened with me was extremely bad," said the MP.
She also said, "The past days have been very difficult for me. I thank those who prayed. Those who tried to indulge in character assassination, said that I was doing it at the behest of the other party, God bless them too."
According to sources, in her police complaint, Swati Maliwal has named Bibhav Kumar as the "main person" who allegedly assaulted her when she went to meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday.
The BJP criticized Kejriwal after he refused to comment on the Maliwal "assault" incident during a press conference in Lucknow. Kejriwal was accompanied by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh. Kejriwal avoided a question on the issue, which was instead addressed by Singh, who stated that the party had already made its position clear.
When Kejriwal was avoiding the question, Yadav took the microphone and said, "There are more important things than that".
He then unfolded a piece of paper and said, "BJP people are not with anyone, it is a 'gang' that lodges false cases".
Sanjay Singh then took the microphone from the SP chief and said the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer for atrocities against women during their party's rule.
On Tuesday, during a press conference in Delhi, Singh acknowledged that Kumar had "misbehaved" with Maliwal.
Meanwhile,
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed that Kejriwal is the main "criminal" in the complaint, asserting that his aide Kumar had physically attacked Maliwal at the chief minister's residence. Bhatia cited the telephone call Maliwal made to the Delhi Police to report the incident.
"His (Kejriwal) silence speaks a lot. Out of jail, he is more a 'goonda' than a chief minister," he told reporters on Thursday, noting that Kumar was seen with the chief minister in Lucknow. "Stringent action should be taken against the accused in the case."
Kumar, he noted, was photographed with Kejriwal during his visit to Lucknow.
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