Bibhav Kumar sent to judicial custody till May 28
A Delhi court on Friday sentenced Bibhav Kumar, an aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to four days in judicial custody in the alleged Swati Maliwal assault case. He will now appear before the court on May 28.
Bibhav’s lawyers have filed an application to get and preserve the CCTV footages and DVRs.
“These CCTVs prove my case; they searched several times and took CCTV footage; we don’t know how many footages they have. We are striving to preserve the footages,” Kumar’s counsel’s argued in the court.
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The additional public prosecutor argued, “Under what provision was this application moved? These prayers are not applicable at this time because the problem is being investigated.”
#Video दिल्ली में AAP सांसद स्वाति मालीवाल मारपीट मामले में दिल्ली CM अरविंद केजरीवाल के सहयोगी बिभव कुमार को तीस हजारी कोर्ट से ले जाया जा रहा है। उन्हें 28 मई तक न्यायिक हिरासत में भेजा गया है।#arvindkejriwal #aapdelhi #bibhavkumar #swatimaliwalassault
🎥ANI pic.twitter.com/qkSKKXw6tK
— Panchayati Times (@panchayati_pt) May 24, 2024
“They have not specified which CCTV footage they seek; a copy has also been handed to the occupier. They have stated that they desire the same thing, but it is not the stage; it will come later. We first requested a DVR, but instead received a blank pen drive. Now they’ve provided us an NVR, which has been given to the expert for evaluation,” the additional public prosecutor added.
Bibhav Kumar, a key aide of Kejriwal, was arrested by the Delhi Police last week, days after he lodged a counter complaint accusing Swati Maliwal of gaining ‘unauthorised entry’ into the CM’s Civil Lines residence and ‘verbally abusing’ him.
Swati Maliwal assault case
In her complaint, Swati Maliwal told the Delhi Police that Bibhav Kumar slapped her, beat her with sticks, punched her in the stomach, and physically abused her. Based on the complaint, the police filed a FIR against Kumar.
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A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the Delhi Police to probe the incident.
In an interview with news agency PTI, the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal stated that the alleged assault is “sub-judice,” and commenting on it could impact the proceedings. “But I expect a fair investigation. Justice should be served. There are two versions of the event. Police should conduct an impartial investigation into both versions, and justice should triumph,” he added.
Maliwal reacted to the chief minister’s stance by criticizing the irony of Kejriwal, who had earlier denigrated her reputation and dubbed her a “BJP agent,” now asking for an independent investigation.
