Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, has reportedly been taken to Mumbai by Delhi Police for further investigation into the Swati Maliwal assault case. This step was taken by the Delhi Police after their statement in the Tis Hazari Court, indicating the need to visit the location where Kumar allegedly formatted his phone, potentially to destroy critical evidence.
The police pressed on the need to reconstruct the sequence of events surrounding the phone formatting and stated that it is crucial to determining whether Kumar intended to erase significant evidence. Kumar’s custody with the Delhi Police is set to expire on Thursday. Depending on the findings from the Mumbai investigation, the Delhi Police may seek an extension of his remand or invoke Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which punishes the act of destruction of evidence.
In another update on the Swati Maliwal assault case, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been established and is being led by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anjitha Chepyala from North Delhi. The SIT also comprises of three Inspector-rank officers, including one from the Civil Lines Police Station where the case was initially registered.
This development comes a week after the accusation was made by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP against Delhi CM’s former personal aide, Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her at the Chief Minister’s residence. Earlier this week, the Delhi Police took Kumar to the drawing room of Kejriwal’s residence to recreate the events from the morning of May 13 when the alleged assault took place against the Rajya Sabha MP. The police carefully documented Kumar’s responses, mapped the sequence of events, and even photographed the crime scene.
In an unexpected turn of events, Kumar also lodged a counter-complaint against the Rajya Sabha MP on Friday. He accused Maliwal of entering into the Chief Minister’s Civil Lines residence without permission and of abusing him verbally.
