Bibhav Kumar, who 'assaulted' Swati Maliwal, seen with Arvind Kejriwal in Lucknow

Swati Maliwal

Bibhav Kumar, the personal assistant of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who allegedly assaulted Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, was seen with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief in Lucknow on May 15, two days after the incident created a furore.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who while acknowledging the incident had said Kejriwal had taken note of Kumar’s “misbehaviour” against Maliwal and ordered stern action, was also seen with the CM’s PA in the picture purportedly taken at the Lucknow airport. A day earlier, Singh had visited Maliwal, who is yet to speak on the incident.

Kejriwal is in Lucknow to drum up support for INDIA bloc candidates and will address a press conference along with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, whose outfit is also a part of the opposition bloc.

The BJP, which held protests against the alleged assault, slammed AAP and Kejriwal, with national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla retweeting the picture.

It is clear- attack on Swati Maliwal was done at behest of Kejriwal himself

Sheesh Mahal is Apradh Mahal & just like Draupadi cheerharan - a woman Rajya Sabha MP was subjected to… pic.twitter.com/1ig50VqHbT

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— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) May 16, 2024

A senior AAP leader and the former Delhi Commission for Women chief, Maliwal on May 13 made a call to the police control room, alleging that a member of Kejriwal's personal staff had "assaulted' her at the Chief Minister's residence.

The call came in at 9.34 am. She visited the local police station later but didn’t lodge a complaint.

"After some time, MP madam came to the police station. However, she left, stating she would give a complaint later," Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) MK Meena told reporters.

Maliwal hasn’t lodged a complaint or issued a statement so far.

According to reports, Kumar is one of Kejriwal's trusted aides. A former video journalist, Kumar was questioned by ED in April in the Delhi liquor policy case for alleged money laundering. Kejriwal is out on interim bail in the case. The directorate of vigilance recently terminated Kumar’s services as personal secretary to the CM.