Days after being arrested for allegedly assaulting Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar is being taken to Mumbai for the retrieval of data from his formatted iPhone, police said on Tuesday. Currently, Kumar is under a five-day judicial custody in connection with the case which allegedly occurred at the CM's residence on May 13.
Bibhav Kumar formatted his phone: Police
Police said Kumar had formatted his phone before transferring the data to some person, or device in Mumbai. His mobile phone was seized following his arrest but it was found to have been formatted, they said. The police emphasized that recreating the crime sequence is crucial to determine if the alleged formatting of Kumar's phone was intended to destroy vital evidence. Kumar's custody with the Delhi Police is set to expire on Thursday. Based on their findings, the Delhi Police will decide whether to request an extension of his remand or to invoke Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which penalizes the destruction of evidence, the police said.
Kumar taken to drawing room of Kejriwal's residence
Earlier on Monday, the Delhi Police took Bibhav Kumar to the drawing room of Kejriwal's residence where Kumar had allegedly assaulted Maliwal, to find out details about the sequence of events that took place on the morning of May 13. The police noted down the answers to all their questions sequence-wise, mapped them and took photographs of the crime scene where the hour-long crime took place, officials said. Bibhav Kumar has lodged a counter-complaint with the police on Friday, accusing Maliwal of gaining 'unauthorised entry' into the CM's Civil Lines residence and 'verbally abusing' him.
SIT to investigate case
Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the Swati Maliwal case. The SIT is headed by North Delhi's Additional Deputy Commissioner Of Police (DCP) Anjitha Chepyala who has been handling the investigation. Three Inspector-rank officers are also included in the SIT, which includes the officer of Civil Lines Police Station where the case was registered. This comes a week after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP accused party chief Arvind Kejriwal's former personal secretary Bibhav Kumar of assaulting her at the Chief Minister's residence.
(With inputs from agencies)
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