‘Kejriwal doesn’t want to be on Maliwal’s side’: NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma on assault case

On Thursday, the NCW took suo motu cognizance of a media post reporting Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi and former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), alleged Bibhav Kumar brutally assaulted her at the chief minister’s residence. The commission had sent a summon to Bibhav Kumar’s residence on Thursday for a hearing on May 17 at 11 am.

“We have sent a second summons through the police today… Bibhav has not answered our notice yet. Our team has gone again today to issue a notice. If he doesn’t come after this, we’ll send an enquiry team,” said Sharma on Friday.

Sharma said Kumar’s wife had denied receiving the notice on Thursday evening when the NCW team went to deliver it. It was then pasted on Kumar’s house’s door, she added. The Aam Aadmi Party has been under the Bharatiya Janata Party fire for its delayed response over the alleged assault on Swati Maliwal, with Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva demanding Kumar’s arrest. On the day of the alleged assault, while both Maliwal and AAP refused to comment on the issue, a day later, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said during a press conference that the party would take “strict action” against Kumar.

Triggering yet another controversy in the matter, Kumar was seen with Singh and Kejriwal at the Lucknow airport on Thursday morning. When asked about the issue, Kejriwal did not respond but Singh talked about how Swati Maliwal was ill-treated by police personnel while she was sitting in solidarity at Jantar Mantar with women wrestlers who had accused BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of molestation.

The Delhi Police booked Bibhav Kumar in connection with the case on Thursday, three days after Swati Maliwal called the police control room, alleging she was assaulted when she went to visit Kejriwal at his official residence.

The FIR against Kumar has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force on woman with intent to disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).