 "AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at a Delhi court on Friday. ANI")
“Who are you to say no to us. I shall teach you a lesson.”
With these words, Bibhav Kumar, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, launched an unprovoked attack on Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal, she claims in her complaint to the Delhi police.
It is based on this very complaint that the authorities have filed an FIR against 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 of intent to insult) and 323 (assault).
In her written statement, 39-year-old Maliwal provides a detailed and harrowing account of what happened on Monday , 13 May, as she went to visit the Delhi CM at his official residence at Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines.
On receiving the complaint, the police approached Kumar’s house in the Chandrawal Nagar area of the national capital. However, he is missing, prompting teams from the Crime Branch and Special Cell to launch a search for him.
While the cops hunt for Kumar, here’s an in-depth look at Maliwal’s account of the assault.
(Trigger warning: Please note that the report contains graphical details of abuse, which could be distressing to some. Reader discretion is advised)
1) Around 9 am on Monday, Swati Maliwal reached the official residence of Kejriwal at 6 Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines from where she called Kumar and Kejriwal. However, both of them didn’t respond to her phone calls.
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More Shorts2) She then walked into the house, informing the staff that she wished to meet the Delhi CM. At this point, she was asked to wait in the drawing room.
3) While Maliwal was waiting in the room alone, Bibhav Kumar, kejriwal’s aide, barged into the room all of a sudden and began shouting at her. When he began to hurl abuses at her, she told him to stop talking like and called out to the CM again.
4) Kumar then yelled at her, “Tu kaise hamari baat nahi manegi. Saali teri aukaat kya hai humko na kar de. Tujhe toh hum sabak sikhayenge (Who are you to refuse us. What is your status to say no to us. I shall teach you a lesson).”
5) Maliwal claims that while saying these words to her, he stood right over her face, and then without any provocation slapped her in the face. “He slapped me seven-eight times at least while I continued to scream. I felt absolutely shocked and was screaming for help over and over again,” she writes in her complaint.
6) During the assault, Kumar pounced on her, and brutally dragged her. She claims that amid this, her shirt pulled up and the button on them also opened up.
Also read: How the Swati Maliwal-Bibhav Kumar ‘assault’ row unfolded: The complete story7) In her words, Bibhav did not stop at all, despite her pleas for help and “attacked me by kicking me in the chest and pelvis area.”
8) She claims that she repeatedly told him that she was having her periods and that he should let her go as she was in pain. However, he attacked her repeatedly with full force.
9) At some point during the assault, she was able to get free and then sat on the sofa and gathered her spectacles. In her FIR, she writes, “I was in a terrible state of shock at this attack. I was deeply traumatised and called the 112 number and reported the incident.”
10) Kumar then threatened her again, saying: “Kar le tujhe jo karna hai. Tum hamari kuch nahi bigaad denge. Hum tumhe aisi jagah gaadenge, kisi ko pata bhi nahi chalega (Do what you have to. You can’t do anything to me. I shall bury you in such a place that no one will even know of).”
11) Following this, he left the room and Maliwal was asked to leave the premises. “I sat briefly on the floor outside as I was in deep pain. I somehow in a daze returned to my residence.”
12) She further writes in her complaint that she is still in pain and this has been the most difficult time of her life. “My arms are very sore; my abdomen is also paining. I am also having difficulty in walking. My situation is further exacerbated that I ended up being brutally beaten by a person I know for so long. I am deeply disturbed and distraught by this incident and that someone could display such goonda behaviour.” She further adds that it has taken her three days to gather herself and report the matter to the authorities.