Maliwal assault: Kejriwal breaks silence, seeks fair probe

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) In his first reaction on AAP MP Swati Maliwal's alleged assault at his official residence, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he expects a fair investigation into the matter and justice should be served.

Maliwal has alleged she was "assaulted" by Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar when she went to meet the chief minister on May 13. The police have registered a case and arrested Kumar in connection with it.

In an interview to PTI, the chief minister said the matter is currently "sub-judice" and his comment might affect the proceedings.

"But I expect there will be a fair investigation. Justice should be served. There are two versions of the event. Police should investigate both versions fairly and justice should be done," Kejriwal said.

Asked whether he was present at his official residence at the time of the incident, the AAP national convener said he was there. "But I was not present at the scene," he said.

His aide Kumar is currently in five-day police custody in connection with the case.

Earlier Wednesday, Maliwal 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," the Rajya Sabha MP said in a post on X.

"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," she added.

On Tuesday, Kumar was taken to Mumbai for the discovery of data from his phone which he had allegedly formatted before his arrest.

Police suspect Kumar formatted his phone after transferring its data to some person or device in Mumbai.

Kumar's phones and laptop as well as CCTV recordings from Kejriwal's house have been sent for forensic examination, an officer said. As Kumar's police custody is ending on Thursday, investigators are trying to collect all evidence related to the case, he said. PTI