The Delhi Police on Wednesday brought back Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar, from Mumbai, where he had been taken for data retrieval from his iPhone. Kumar is currently in five-day police custody related to the alleged assault on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the Delhi CM's residence. On Tuesday, Kumar was transported to Mumbai to recover data from his phone, which he had reportedly formatted prior to his arrest.
Police suspect Kumar formatted his phone after transferring its data to some person or device in Mumbai, an officer said. Kumar's phones and laptop, and CCTV recordings from Kejriwal's house have been sent for forensic examination, an officer said. The officer said as the police custody of Kumar is ending on Thursday, investigators are trying to collect all evidence related to the case.
What did Maliwal say?
Meanwhile, Maliwal in a post on X alleged that there is a "lot of pressure" on everyone in the party to malign her. "Yesterday I got a call from a big leader of the party. They told me how there is a lot of pressure on everyone, they have to say bad things against Swati, they have to break her by leaking her personal photos. It is being said that anyone who supports her will be expelled from the party." She added, "Someone has got the duty of doing press conference and someone has got the duty of tweeting. It is someone's duty to call the volunteers sitting in America and get something out against me."
Kumar was taken to Mumbai
On Tuesday, a five-member police team landed at the Mumbai airport around 4.30 pm with Kumar. They took him to many locations, including the place where he stayed before coming to Delhi on May 18. A team led by a female additional DCP-level officer has been investigating the case. In a complaint to police, Kumar accused Maliwal of breaching the security of the CM's residence, gained access forcibly and created a ruckus there.
About the incident
It should be noted here that Maliwal has alleged that she was assaulted by Kejriwal's personal assistant Kumar when she had gone to meet the CM at his residence on May 13. On Maliwal's complaint, the police booked Kumar under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint ), 345B (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to disrobe her), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult caused to the modesty of a woman by the use of any words, gestures, or object intending to the do the same) at the Civil Lines police station.
(With inputs from agencies)
