Swati Maliwal, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP, has claimed that CCTV footage from the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence has disappeared after an incident where she was allegedly assaulted by Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, on May 13. Maliwal stated that edited videos are being released instead of the full footage.
Allegations and Arrest
Swati Maliwal reported that she was assaulted by Bibhav Kumar. “I was thrashed brutally by Bibhav. He slapped and kicked me. When I managed to call 112, he went outside, called security personnel, and started making a video. I was shouting and telling the security that Bibhav had thrashed me brutally,” Maliwal wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Bibhav Kumar was arrested and sent to five-day police custody by Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on Saturday night. The court proceedings included allegations that the phone used to record the incident had been formatted and crucial data had been deleted.
Disappearance of CCTV Footage
Maliwal claimed that a significant portion of the video had been edited. “Only a 50-second video was released when I was fed up with telling the security. Now the phone has been formatted, and the full video deleted. The CCTV camera footage has also disappeared. This is the height of conspiracy,” she added.
Police Investigation
The Delhi Police stated that Bibhav Kumar did not provide the password for his mobile phone, which had been formatted in Mumbai due to malfunctioning. The police needed to retrieve the data and said Kumar had to be taken to Mumbai for this purpose. The police also alleged that the DVR footage given to them was blank.
Court Proceedings
Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastava sought a seven-day police remand for Bibhav Kumar. Srivastava stated, “Swati Maliwal was brutally beaten and attacked. We asked for the DVR, which was provided on a pen drive. The footage was found to be blank.” He also argued that Kumar’s influence over witnesses and the deletion of footage were significant issues.
Kumar’s lawyer, Rajiv Mohan, questioned the delay in filing the case and why Maliwal was not taken for medical attention when she initially went to the police station.
Conclusion
The incident has raised serious concerns about the handling of evidence and the safety of public figures. Swati Maliwal’s allegations and the subsequent investigation highlight the need for transparency and thorough examination of the facts surrounding the case.