The Delhi police on Tuesday filed an over 500-page chargesheet against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar, arrested for allegedly assaulting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal.
The chargesheet was filed in a Tis Hazari court before Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal, who extended the judicial custody of Mr. Kumar till July 30, the day the court will hold a hearing on the chargesheet for the framing of charges.
The court also asked the Tihar Jail Superintendent to produce Mr. Kumar on the next date of hearing.
Mr. Kumar was arrested in the case on May 18, five days after the alleged incident at the Chief Minister’s official residence.
Ms. Maliwal had complained to the police that he slapped and kicked her in the chest. The Chief Minister’s aide has denied the allegations.
‘Over 50 witnesses’
A senior police officer told The Hindu that the chargesheet contains witness statements of over 50 employees working at the Chief Minister’s residence.
He said a digital video recorder was collected from the Chief Minister’s residence, along with several gadgets. “Mobile phones used by Kumar were seized to analyse various aspects of the case,” he added. During the course of the investigation, Mr. Kumar was also taken to Mumbai to retrieve data from his previous phone, which, the police said, had been formatted.
Mr. Kumar has been booked under various Indian Penal Code provisions, (IPC) including Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (outraging a woman’s modesty), 354B (use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to disrobe her), 506 (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).
