What Swati Maliwal’s FIR Says About The Alleged Assault
Following reports of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal being subjected to alleged physical assault by Bibhav Kumar, the personal assistant of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, a copy of the FIR filed has surfaced online. In the report, Maliwal recounts the alleged assault she was subjected to at the residence of the CM.
The Rajya Sabha MP recorded her statement on the assault at Tis Hazari Court in Delhi around noon today. A medical examination revealed that Maliwal suffered from internal injuries to her face.
Meanwhile, a 52-second video shot on a mobile phone has surfaced online where Maliwal can be heard arguing with security officials who asked her to leave the building. In the video, which begins in the middle of an argument and briefly shows Maliwal sitting on a couch, she can be heard saying that she will complain to the cops while the security personnel ask he to leave the premises.
Responding to the video, Maliwal referred to a “political hitman” who directed “his people” to share the video without context to “save himself by committing this crime.” She added, “The truth be revealed to everyone as soon as the CCTV footage of the house and the room is checked.”
हर बार की तरह इस बार भी इस राजनीतिक हिटमैन ने ख़ुद को बचाने की कोशिशें शुरू कर दी हैं।
अपने लोगों से ट्वीट्स करवाके, आधि बिना संदर्भ की वीडियो चलाके इसे लगता है ये इस अपराध को अंजाम देके ख़ुद को बचा लेगा। कोई किसी को पीटते हुए वीडियो बनाता है भला? घर के अंदर की और कमरे की CCTV…
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 17, 2024
On Thursday, the Delhi police filed an FIR against Kumar, who has been booked under IPC sections to assault, criminal intimidation, and outraging a woman’s modesty. Led by Additional Commissioner of Police P.S. Kushwaha, a two-member police team visited Maliwal’s Central Delhi residence to record her statement earlier today.
Maliwal recounted the series of events that took place on May 13 when she visited Kejriwal’s residence to meet him. After getting no response from his PA Bibhav Kumar, via calls or text, Maliwal entered the CM’s residence and asked the staff to inform him that she wanted to meet him. In the FIR, Maliwal claims that she was told by the staff members that Kejriwal was present in the house.
She stated that while waiting, Kumar barged in, screaming and verbally abusing her. Maliwal alleged that Kumar proceeded to slap her “7-8 times” while she screamed for help. When she pushed him away with her legs, Kumar allegedly pounced on her, dragging Maliwal and pulling her shirt up. “I was constantly screaming for help, but no one came,” she stated.
Kumar then repeatedly kicked her in the chest, stomach, and pelvis areas, she said in her statement. “I repeatedly told him that I am having my periods and that he should please let go of me as I am in unbearable pain. However, he attacked me with full force again and again,” the FIR recorded.
Following the “unprovoked attack,” Maliwal reported the crime by dialling 112. Kumar allegedly threatened her again, saying, “Kar le tujhe jo karna hai. Tu humara kuch nahi bigaad sakti. Teri haddi pasli tudva denge aur aisi jagah gaadenge, kisi ko pata bhi nahi chalega (Do whatever you want to do. You can’t harm us. We will break your bones and bury you in such a place that no one will even know).”
After leaving, Kumar returned with the security staff working at the main gate to ask her to leave “at the behest of Bibhav,” despite Maliwal informing them that she was “brutally beaten up.” Maliwal then headed to her previous residence in Civil Lines, accompanied by PCR officials who called an auto for her to report the matter. The report states that “due to extreme trauma, pain, and not wanting to politicise the incident,” she left the police station without filing a complaint.
Describing the extreme pain endured by her body, making even walking difficult after the alleged assault, the former Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief observed, “My situation is exacerbated by the fact that having worked all my life for women issues and having helped the lakhs of women get justice, I ended up being brutally beaten by a person whom I know since long.”
After three days, Maliwal finally reported the matter through a written complaint. She urged swift and strict action against the accused and expressed shock at the alleged attack occurring “unprovoked” at the residence of the CM.
Tweeting about the incident, Maliwal added a “special request” to the BJP to “not do politics on this incident.”
मेरे साथ जो हुआ वो बहुत बुरा था। मेरे साथ हुई घटना पर मैंने पुलिस को अपना स्टेटमेंट दिया है। मुझे आशा है कि उचित कार्यवाही होगी। पिछले दिन मेरे लिए बहुत कठिन रहे हैं। जिन लोगों ने प्रार्थना की उनका धन्यवाद करती हूँ। जिन लोगों ने Character Assassination करने की कोशिश की, ये बोला…
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 16, 2024
