Swati Maliwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member on Friday formally lodged a complaint with Delhi Police, revealing the extent of harassment and torture she faced at the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.
The FIR lodged by Swati Maliwal, a copy of which is with IANS, reveals chilling details about the alleged atrocity and brutality inflicted on her on May 13.
“When I called 112 (emergency number) after the assault, Bhibhav said do what you have to do. You can't spoil anything for us. We'll bury and dump in such a place that no one will even know,” read the AAP MP Swati Maliwal's statement in the FIR, after the assault on her by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal secretary (PS) Bibhav Kumar.
According to the FIR, accessed by IANS, on May 13, at around 9 a.m., Maliwal had visited the residence of Arvind Kejriwal at 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines, Delhi.
“I then entered the residential area through the main door, as I have always done in the past year since Bibhav Kumar was not present at the gate. I entered the residence area and informed the staff present there to convey my message to the CM to meet me. I was informed that he was present in the house and I was directed to the drawing room. I proceeded to the drawing room, sat on the sofa, and waited for him to meet me,” she said in the complaint.
She said that a staff member informed me that the CM would meet me shortly, and suddenly, the PS of the CM, Bibhav Kumar, barged into the room.
“He started screaming without any provocation and even resorted to verbal abuse. I was stunned by this sudden outburst and reacted by telling him to stop talking to me in such a manner and to call the CM. He said, "How dare you not obey us? How can you not obey us? Your status is so low that you won't refuse us. You're a lowly woman, we'll teach you a lesson,” she claimed in the FIR.
Maliwal said that while uttering these words, he came and stood right in front of me. Without any provocation on my part, he started hitting me repeatedly.
“He slapped me at least 7-8 times while I continued to scream for help. I felt absolutely shocked and kept screaming for assistance. In an attempt to protect myself, I pushed him away with my legs. At that moment, he aggressively attacked me, pulled my shirt up deliberately, causing the buttons to come undone, and my shirt flew up.
"I fell down and hit my head on the centre table. I continued to scream for help as he did not stop and proceeded to kick me in my chest, stomach, and pelvic area with his legs,” she claimed in the FIR.
“I was in extreme pain and pleaded with him to stop. Despite my pleas, he continued to assault me. My shirt was pulled up, but he persisted in attacking me. I kept begging him to stop. Eventually, I was taken outside the CM residence, where I sat briefly on the floor due to the intense pain. The PCR police arrived, but I was in a dazed state and left, walking towards my previous residence in Civil Lines. I was crying and managed to reach my earlier residence. I sat on the ground there for some time until some personnel who had accompanied me from the CM house called an auto for me. I sat in it and started towards my house, as I was in terrible pain and was traumatised and shattered,” Maliwal further said.
“Somehow, I gathered the strength to reach the PS Civil Lines to report the matter. I reached there and informed the SHO about the incident while crying. I was in severe pain and experiencing severe cramps. I also started receiving numerous calls from the media on my mobile. Due to the trauma, pain, and my reluctance to politicise the incident, I left the Police Station without filing a written complaint. My head was splitting with pain, and my arms and legs were aching terribly,” she said.
“The past days since the incident have been extremely painful for me. It is one of the most difficult times of my life. The pain, trauma and harassment has been mind-numbing. My head and neck have been hurting constantly since the attack. My arms are very sore and my abdomen is also paining. I am also having difficulty in walking. My situation is exacerbated by the fact that having worked all my life for women issues and having helped lacs of women get justice,” the FIR read.
“I ended up being brutally beaten by a person whom I know since long. I am deeply disturbed by this incident and am distraught that someone could display such goonda behavior. I feel totally shattered. It has taken me 3 days to gather myself and report the matter through a written complaint. I request you to kindly take strongest possible action in the matter. I am shocked that this brutal attack happened to me completely unprovoked at CM residence,” it added.
The FIR has been registered under sections 308, 341, 354 D, 506, and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Civil Lines police station.