Delhi Police claimed that two calls they received from an unidentified person inside Mr. Arvind Kejriwal’s house using a phone number that belonged to Ms. Maliwal alerted them to the harassment.
AAP leader Swati Maliwal has spoken out about the incident with Delhi Police after going silent for four days. Maliwal is at the center of an alleged harassment case involving party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar. The opposition BJP and the ruling AAP are engaged in a bitter political battle as a result of this. Based on the complaint, Bibhav Kumar is the target of an ongoing legal prosecution. Ms. Maliwal has reportedly been sent for a medical examination to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.
“What happened to me was extremely terrible,” she said on the old Twitter app, X. I went through the worst couple days ever.”
“It was an extremely horrible experience. My statement detailing the incident that happened to me has been given to the police. I’m hopeful the appropriate actions will be taken. I have had the worst couple days ever. I am appreciative to all those who prayed for me. May God continue to bless those who tried to discredit her by claiming that she was acting at the request of the other side. There is an important election taking place in the country right now; national issues are more important than Swati Maliwal.”
The Delhi Police recorded Ms. Maliwal’s statement and subsequently filed a complaint against Arvind Kejriwal’s aide. Ms. Maliwal had been placed under house arrest following the alleged attack; on Thursday night, a two-person police unit lead by Assistant Commissioner of Police PS Kushwaha met her at her residence to obtain a statement and gather information. The meeting lasted four hours, according to officials who spoke with news agency PTI.
This happened just a few hours after the National Commission for Women sent Mr. Kumar a summons.
The police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Arvind Kejriwal’s assistant Kumar for assault, criminal intimidation, and outraging a woman’s modesty in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
Bibhav Kumar allegedly attacked Swati Maliwal on Monday at the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Delhi’s Civil Lines neighborhood. The “distressing incident” was confirmed by Sanjay Singh of the AAP on Tuesday. According to Singh, she was waiting to see the Chief Minister when Mr. Kumar “misbehaved” with her.
Delhi Police confirmed that they had received two calls from an anonymous person inside Arvind Kejriwal’s property, however the calls came from a phone number that belonged to Ms. Maliwal, informing them of the harassment.
Ms. Maliwal later appeared at a nearby police station, but she left without filing a report.
The BJP attacked Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP with a flurry of counterattacks after Ms. Maliwal’s attack. In order to campaign for his party in the current general election, Kejriwal was released on bail last week after being detained by the Enforcement Directorate in March on suspicion of violating a liquor regulation.
Despite growing calls for Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation, the BJP claims that he is shielding his helper. Those accusations gained momentum today when he seemed to avoid answering questions from reporters regarding this topic.
On behalf of the Chief Minister, Mr Singh, who is now free on bond in the liquor policy case, answered right away. The Rajya Sabha MP said that JDS MP Prajwal Revanna, an ally, was a victim of sexual assault and wanted the BJP to reply to questions about crimes against women in Manipur.
Declaring that Arvind Kejriwal had “taken note and called for harshest legal action” against his aide, Mr. Singh branded the incident “shameful” on Tuesday. He said that “political games” are not acceptable and that the party backs Ms. Maliwal, calling her “one of the AAP’s oldest and senior-most leaders”.
Other Leaders’ Reactions Against Kejriwal’s Abide:
Without delay, the BJP condemned Mr. Singh’s remarks. The leader of the party in Delhi, Virendra Sachdeva, questioned, “Why were they silent for 36 hours?” The Chief Minister had vanished from view. “A Rajya Sabha MP, a woman, was mistreated at Mr. Kejriwal’s house, and you’re only now learning about it?”
Arvinder Singh Lovely, a recent BJP recruit from the Congress, declared, “If Swati Maliwal has been treated in this manner, it is appalling and unacceptable. Those who talk about promises cannot guarantee the safety of women in their own homes. This raises questions concerning the government.”
The issue over the alleged attack on Ms. Maliwal has also prompted a response from the Congress, an AAP ally.
In spite of her declaration that “I always stand with women, irrespective of which party they belong to,” Congresswoman Priyanka Gandhi Vadra deferred to the AAP for any further action.
AAP is a part of the Congress-led opposition coalition in India, which was formed in the wake of the current Lok Sabha election with the goal of deposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. The fifth phase of the election will see polls in Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats on May 25. All seven of the previous elections were won by the BJP.
