Swati Maliwal case: Delhi court extends judicial custody of Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar till July 16

A Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of Bibhav Kumar till July 16 in connection with an assault case. A close aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he was arrested in mid-May after being accused of assaulting Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the official residence of the CM.

Kumar was arrested by the Delhi Police on May 18 following a complaint registered by Maliwal. The incident allegedly took place on May 13. The Kejriwal aide was eventually remanded to judicial custody on May 31 following an interrogation. The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the police on Monday after Kumar moved a plea seeking direction to declare his arrest illegal. He has also sought appropriate compensation.

Meanwhile Maliwal has lashed out at her party for siding with Kumar and leaving her “alone in the entire battle”. The former DCW chief noted that she had been working on ground for nearly a decade and heard over 1.7 lakh cases for the Delhi Commission of Women.

The former DCW chief also said that she was “very hurt and saddened by the behaviour of Arvind Kejriwal”. She also noted during an interaction with ANI towards the end of May.that Kumar had accompanied the Delhi CM during his visit to Lucknow and Amritsar for campaigning in Lok Sabha polls.

“Bibhav Kumar beat me up very badly in Arvind Kejriwal's drawing room, and as soon as I filed a complaint in this matter, the entire party's resources and leadership were used against me. Every day I was victim-shamed, my character was maligned. As soon as Delhi Police arrested Bibhav Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal himself and the entire party took to the streets to protest against his arrest. An attempt was made to portray that he is the hero and I am the villain,” Maliwal told the publication.

(With inputs from agencies)