Bibhav Kumar, the personal secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, allegedly kicked and slapped Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal multiple times and did not stop even as she cried for help, the FIR registered by the Delhi Police on a complaint filed by Maliwal, states.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that Kumar “slapped” her “at least seven to eight times” while she continued screaming. She further claimed that he “brutally dragged” her and “kicked her in the chest, stomach, and pelvis area”.
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Details of the alleged assault on Maliwal surfaced on Friday as she appeared before a magistrate to record her statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure at Tis Hazari court in the national capital.
The incident transpired on May 13 at the official residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, according to the Delhi Police FIR. Maliwal recounted the events, stating that upon her arrival at Kejriwal’s Civil Lines house, she tried to contact his PS Bibhav Kumar, but received no answer. So, she went inside through the main door, like she had done before.
“I was informed that he (Kejriwal) was present in the house and I was told to wait in the drawing room. I went in the drawing room and sat on the sofa and was waiting for him to meet me,” the FIR states.
The FIR said that a member of staff told Maliwal that the CM was on his way to meet her. Suddenly, Bibhav Kumar, the CM’s aide, burst into the room and started shouting and swearing at her for no reason. This left her shocked. She then asked him to stop and call the CM.
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“He then abused me and asked who are you to not listen to what I say. While saying these words, he came and stood right in front of me. Without any provocation whatsoever on my side, he started slapping me with full force. He slapped me seven to eight times at least while I continued screaming. I felt absolutely shocked and was screaming for help over and over again. In order to protect myself I pushed him away with my legs,” Maliwal recounted.
Maliwal recalled the incident vividly, describing how Bibhav Kumar grabbed her forcefully, brutally dragged her, and deliberately pulled her shirt up. She claimed that her shirt buttons came undone and her shirt flew up. She fell to the floor, hitting her head on a table, while pleading for help to no avail. Kumar continued his attack, kicking her in the chest, stomach, and pelvis area, causing excruciating pain.
“I was in extreme pain and kept telling him to stop. My shirt was coming up but he still continued to assault me,” Maliwal said.
“I repeatedly told him that I was on my period and that he should please let go of me as I was in unbearable pain. However, he attacked me with full force again and again. I somehow managed to get free. I then sat on the sofa of the drawing room and gathered my spectacles that had fallen on the ground during the assault. I was in a terrible state of shock at this attack. I was deeply traumatised and called the 112 number and reported the crime against me,” Maliwal said in her complaint to the Delhi Police.
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Maliwal also mentioned in her statement that Bibhav threatened her, saying, “Do what you want, you can’t do anything. We will break all your bones and bury you in a place that no one will know about.” Upon realising that she had called 112, he left the room.
Later, Bibhav came back with security staff from the CM’s camp offices. They told Maliwal to leave because Bibhav wanted her to. Even though she told them she had been brutally beaten and asked them to wait for the PCR police, they still made her leave. Maliwal sat on the floor outside the CM’s residence for a short time because she was in intense pain. The PCR police arrived, but she felt too confused to talk to them, so she walked back to her previous residence in Civil Line.
“I was crying and somehow reached my earlier residence. I sat on the ground there for sometime and some police personnel who had accompanied me from the CM house called me an auto on my request. I sat in it and started going towards my house as I was in terrible pain and was traumatised and shattered. Somehow I mustered the strength and asked the auto to head back and went to Police Station at Civil Lines to report the matter,” she said.
After the incident, Maliwal immediately informed the Station House Officer (SHO) about what had happened. Overwhelmed by extreme trauma and physical discomfort, and wary of politicising the incident, she made the difficult decision to leave the police station without formally filing a written complaint.
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“The past few days since the incident have been extremely painful for me. It is one of the most difficult times of my life. The pain, trauma and harassment has been mind-numbing. My head and neck has been hurting constantly since the attack. My arms are very sore and my abdomen is also paining. I am also having difficulty in walking. My situation is exacerbated by the fact that having worked all my life for women’s issues and having helped lakhs of women get justice, I ended up being brutally beaten by a person whom I had known for long. I am deeply disturbed by this incident and am distraught that someone could display such goonda behavior. I feel totally shattered,” she said.
“It has taken me three days to gather myself and report the matter through a written complaint. I request you to kindly take strongest possible action in the matter. I am shocked that this brutal attack happened to me completely unprovoked at CM residence,” Maliwal said.
The FIR has been filed under several sections of the Indian Penal Code: Section 308 for attempt to commit culpable homicide, Section 341 for punishment for wrongful restraint, Section 354B for assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe a woman, Section 506 for punishment for criminal intimidation, and Section 509 for word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.