Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar denied bail in Swati Maliwal assault case

Delhi’s Tis Hazari court on Monday denied bail to Bibhav Kumar, the former personal assistant of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case of the alleged assault of Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal at the CM’s residence earlier this month.

Additional Session judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi passed the order dismissing the bail petition. The court had reserved its order earlier in the day, reported Bar and Bench.

Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Kejriwal, was arrested by the Delhi Police on May 18 and remanded to police custody for 5 days. He was later sent to judicial custody. Maliwal alleged that she was assaulted by Bibhav Kumar on May 13 when she visited there to meet Kejriwal.

During the hearing today, Maliwal said she was being targetted by leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and its social media team. She also referred to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee’s “one-sided” video and claimed to have received death and rape threats after the video was published.

“If Bibhav Kumar is allowed to come out, my life and my family’s life would be in grave danger,” she said.

According to the FIR, Maliwal has accused Kumar of hitting her in her chest, stomach and pelvic area with his legs. The AAP, however, has countered the allegations terming Maliwal’s allegations as a “BJP conspiracy”.

Some videos have also surfaced online showing Maliwal engaged in a heated discussion with security personnel at the CM’s residence and walking out of the house. During the course of the hearing, Kumar’s counsel argued that Maliwal entered the CM’s Civil Lines residence without any invitation and committed trespass on the property.

“Who called her? Was she invited? She barged in and tresspassed in CM’s residence,” the counsel told the court, according to Bar and Bench. Kumar’s counsel also questioned the delay on Maliwal’s partt in registering a formal complaint with the Delhi Police and asked why she was medically examined at AIIMS and not any Delhi government hospital.

The Delhi Police, on the other hand, informed the court that Maliwal was hit on her chest, neck and sustained injury to her head while being dragged. The Delhi Police also said that the video footage of where the incident took place is missing.

“It could be because of technical issue or it could have been deliberately removed. He is an influential person and people were communicating with him even when his services with CM were no longer valid,” the Delhi Police said.