AAP accuses BJP of conspiracy in Swati Maliwal assault controversy
Swati Maliwal assault case
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday (May 17) countered Swati Maliwal's allegations that she was "slapped seven times (and) kicked in the stomach" by an aide of Arvind Kejriwal inside the Delhi chief minister's residence.
Itaccused the AAP Rajya Sabha MP of collaborating with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to tarnish the party's reputation during the current general election.
Maliwal, who accused Bibhav Kumar, an aide to AAP party chief Arvind Kejriwal, of assaulting her inside the Delhi Chief Minister's residence in Civil Lines, responded sharply to a 52-second mobile phone video released on Friday afternoon.
The video briefly shows her arguing and shouting at security officials who instructed her to leave the premises.
In a post on X, Maliwal also mentioned a "political hitman," a comment that many interpreted as targeting CM Kejriwal. She asserted that this "hitman" had instructed "his people to circulate the video to shape a narrative in defence of the party and "save himself (after) committing this crime". The Delhi police, in a bid to connect the dots, brought Maliwal to Kejriwal's residence to recreate the scene. A Delhi police team, accompanied by five forensic scientists, had also visited the location. The team, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Anjitha Chepyala, consisted of four members, as per sources cited by news agency PTI. Earlier, AAP's Atishi had accused her of being manipulated by the BJP and claimed a conspiracy by the party in Maliwal's assault allegations. Besides gathering CCTV footage from the living room, where Maliwal alleged she was slapped seven times and kicked, the police also reportedly took witness statements and interviewed members of Arvind Kejriwal's security team. This included people involved in the heated exchange captured in blurry mobile phone footage.
AAP faces sharp criticism
The row has given the BJP plenty of reasons to slam the AAP and Kejriwal just before the Delhi Lok Sabha election. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called the chief minister "shameless" for staying associated with Bibhav Kumar. Also read | Battle of the Bastions: Smriti Irani, Amethi and the unmaking of a Gandhi family stronghold After the police arrived at Kejriwal's home, more problems arose for the AAP. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which arrested the Chief Minister in March over the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam, has now for the first time implicated an entire political party in a case.(With inputs from agencies)
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