‘Bibhav Kumar & Delhi CM Were Together At The Scene After Commission Of Crime': Delhi Police To SC In Swati Maliwal Case

Bibhav Kumar, close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, is currently in judicial custody. It has been alleged that he assaulted AAP MP Swati Maliwal on May 13 at the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence. Kumar was arrested on May 18.

New Delhi:The Delhi Police informed the Supreme Court that Swati Maliwal, a sitting MP of the ruling party of Delhi, was brutally beaten up at the Delhi Chief Minister's house, which is a very sensitive place, and Bibhav Kumar and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were together at the scene of the crime, immediately after the commission of the crime for a significant period of time.

The police said a complete U-turn was also taken by two responsible persons of the party regarding the incident in the days following the commission of the crime.

The Delhi Police filed a counter affidavit in the apex court opposing Kumar’s bail plea. Kumar moved the top court challenging the July 12 order of the Delhi High Court, which declined to grant him bail in the case. Kumar has maintained that false allegations have been levelled against him and, pointing that the probe in the matter is over, which had said that his custody is not required any more.

The Delhi Police, in the affidavit, said Maliwal is a sitting Member of Parliament of a ruling party of Delhi, and she has been brutally beaten up at a very sensitive place, the CM’s house. The police said Maliwal presided over Delhi Commission for Women as chairperson for sufficient time, and such an assault on her, and that too at CM's residence, casts aspersions on women's safety in society.

The police said this severe incident significantly impacted her mental state, causing her to remain confined to her home for four days following the assault. The police said that the complaint filed by Kumar via email against Maliwal for illegal/unauthorised entry and creating a security breach by trespassing at the CM's residence for creating ruckus and interfering in the official duties of the staff at the CM camp office was concocted and merely made to avoid repercussions of his own acts.

The police said Kumar, being an influential person, has worked for more than 9 years in an authoritative position, and the staff of the office continues to report to him despite claims that he is no longer an employee.

"This ongoing influence indicates that the petitioner has the potential to exert pressure, influence, and sway the witnesses associated with the Chief Minister's House/Camp Office. All the staff still report to the petitioner”, said the affidavit.

The police said Maliwal in her subsequent/ supplementary statement recorded after the bail hearing regarding the petitioner before the Delhi High Court on July 10, stated that the manner in which the entire AAP leaders and workers came in support of Kumar against one of their own MP shows that there is a larger conspiracy behind the attack and urged the police to probe into it.

"Her statement becomes relevant for the present investigation in view of the complete U-turn taken publicly by two responsible persons of the party regarding the same incident in the days following the commission of the crime”, said the affidavit.

"As such, the contrarian public stands taken by responsible public servants in the following days also needs to be examined in its correct perspective to decipher if there was a larger conspiracy behind the brutal assault on the complainant/victim at the hands of the petitioner”, said the affidavit.

The police said it is also a fact on record that selective footage from relevant CCTV cameras were leaked to the media before the relevant recording devices could be seized by the undersigned.

"This act also needs to be examined to find out whether the crime was conspiratorial or otherwise. Therefore, there is still an apprehension that petitioner herein may influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidence and thus fails to qualify the triple test as laid down by this court”, said the police, seeking dismissal of Kumar’s bail plea.

The police said Kumar is a very influential person and has the potential to influence the witnesses as well as the investigation, which can be inferred from his presence at the place of occurrence and the manner of his arrest.

The police said even the Assistant Section officer in the breach report mentions that the petitioner was called on his phone to inform about the arrival of Maliwal on the day of the incident.

"Also, while the JE/PWD expressed his inability to enter inside the residence of the CM's residence and retrieve the DVR, the Petitioner has unrestricted access to the CM's residence where the DVR was placed, as agreed to by the Petitioner himself during sustained interrogation while in police custody. This clearly establishes that while the PWD has the responsibility of upkeep and maintenance of the CCTVs but not actual control over it”, said the affidavit.

Kumar, close aide of Kejriwal, is currently in judicial custody. It has been alleged that he assaulted Maliwal on May 13 at the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence. Kumar was arrested on May 18.