New Delhi: A city court here denied bail to Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar who is accused of assaulting Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal at the Chief Minister’s residence days ago.
Handing out the verdict the court said: ‘The allegations raised by the victim have to be taken at face value and cannot be swiped away".
Earlier, Maliwal broke down in court, alleging that granting bail to Bibhav Kumar would put her and her family in danger.
Dismissing the accused’s charge that Maliwal's actions were pre-meditated, the judge said that there is no evidence for it, adding that if it were so, there would not have been a four-day delay in filing the complaint.
The judge also said that the assault on her was born out by medical examination.
Citing the possibility of evidence tampering and witness influencing as the case is at its nascent stage, the court denied bail to Kejriwal’s aide.
After initially promising to take action against Bibhav Kumar, AAP later accused Maliwal of being part of a BJP conspiracy against Kejriwal.
Maliwal told the court that there was a threat to her life if Kumar was released as her party began backing the accused.
She also told the court that following a video by a YouTuber she began getting rape threats.
Maliwal, a member of Rajya Sabha and former chief of Delhi Women's Commission, alleged that she was waiting to meet the Chief Minister inside the house on May 13 when Bibhav Kumar came and rained blows and kicks on her, alongside tried to tear off her shirt.
However, Bibhav Kumar accused Mailwal of attempting to barge into the Chief Minister's residence and he tried to stop her.