New Delhi:

A purported recording of an alleged telephonic conversation between AAP MP Swati Maliwal and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was shared on social media with a claim that both of them talked about the assault case she filed against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the viral audio clip is AI-generated voice clones of Atishi and Rathee, and was shared on social media with a false claim.

On May 13, Swati Maliwal alleged that she was assaulted by Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar at the Chief Minister’s residence in Delhi.

Claim

A Facebook user shared on May 25 a video of a purported call recording between AAP leader Swati Maliwal and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, in which the former can be heard saying that she was assaulted at the behest of Delhi CM’s wife Sunita Kejriwal.

An English translation of the caption read, “Delhi Swati Maliwal and Dhruv Rathi’s video went viral Swati Maliwal asked Dhruv Rathi not to make videos as per your request. Beating happened at the behest of Kejriwal and Sunita Ghruv makes video on opposition’s agenda.”

Here is the link and archive link and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

The Desk listened to the audio and noticed several discrepancies in it. Also, several words were repeatedly pronounced.

Starting the investigation, the Desk ran the video through InVid Tool Search and found several keyframes. On running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk found several posts carrying the same video with similar claims.

Two such posts can be found here and here, and their archived versions of the same can be found here and here, respectively.

The video was widely shared on YouTube as well. Three such posts can be viewed here, here and here, and their archived versions can be found here, here, and here, respectively.

The Desk noticed one of the comments on the posts, claiming that the post was fake and action should be taken against it.

Below is a screenshot of the same:

The Desk again listened to the audio closely, and found that discrepancies which suggested that it might be fake or digitally created.

At 00:07 and 00:09 seconds, jump-cuts and overlaying of voices of Rathee and Maliwal can be clearly noticed.

The Desk then ran the viral video through Itisaar, an AI detection tool developed in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur. The tool confirmed that the audio was AI generated and conclusively fake with a high confidence level.

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that a fake AI-generated audio clip was shared with the claim that it was the recording of telephonic conversation between Swati Maliwal and Dhruv Rathee.

CLAIM

A purported call recording between AAP MP Swati Maliwal and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, in which they discussed the alleged physical assault on the former.

FACT

The audio clip is fake, generated using AI.

CONCLUSION

Several social media users shared a purported call recording between AAP MP Swati Maliwal and YouTuber Dhruvv Rathee. In its investigation, the Desk found that an AI-generated audio clip was shared on social media with false claim.

(This story was originally published by PTI, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

New Delhi:

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sunday said that she has been receiving rape and death threats after a “character assassination” campaign allegedly orchestrated by party leaders and volunteers.

She said that the situation escalated after the YouTuber Dhruv Rathee posted a one-sided video against her.

“After the leaders and volunteers of my party, i.e., AAP orchestrated a campaign of character assassination, victim shaming, and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats. This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided video against me,” Ms Maliwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

Swati Maliwal accused the party leadership of trying to intimidate her into withdrawing her complaint. She also expressed disappointment with Dhruv Rathee, saying that despite her efforts to contact him and share her side of the story, he ignored her calls and messages.

“It is shameful that people like him, who claim to be independent journalists, could act like other AAP spokespersons and victim-shame me to the extent that I am now facing extreme abuses and threats,” she added.

After the leaders and volunteers of my party i.e. AAP orchestrated a campaign of charachter assassination, victim shaming and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats.

This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided… pic.twitter.com/EfCHHWW0xu

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 26, 2024

Ms Maliwal listed several points that she felt were neglected in Dhruv Rathee’s 2.5-minute video:

She said Dhruv Rathee failed to mention: why the AAP took a U-turn after accepting that the incident happened; the ⁠MLC report that reveals injuries due to the assault; selected part of the video was released and then the phone of the accused was formatted; the accused was arrested from the crime scene (CM house). Why was he allowed to enter the place again? For tampering of evidence?; and how a woman who always stood for the right issues, even went to Manipur alone without security could be bought over by the BJP?

“The manner in which the entire party machinery and its supporters have attempted to vilify and shame me speaks volumes about their stand on women’s issues. I am reporting these rape and death threats to @DelhiPolice. I hope they take strong action against the perpetrators,” Maliwal said.

She concluded by noting, “In any case, if something happens to me, we know who instigated it.”

Bibhav Kumar was arrested on May 18 in connection with the assault on Maliwal at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on May 13.

Mr Kumar, a former PS to Kejriwal, on Saturday moved local court seeking bail. The court has issued notice to Delhi Police and sought its reply.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s parents will be interrogated in the row linked to his party MP Swati Maliwal. The interrogation by the Delhi Police will take place tomorrow, the Chief Minister posted on social media this evening.

“Tomorrow Delhi Police will come to interrogate my old and sick parents,” read a rough translation of his post on X, formerly Twitter.

कल दिल्ली पुलिस मेरे बूढ़े और बीमार माता पिता से पूछताछ करने आएगी।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 22, 2024

Sources in Delhi Police said in her statement, Ms Maliwal said when she had gone to Mr Kejriwal’s house on May 13, his wife Sunita Kejriwal and his parents were having breakfast. Ms Maliwal said she had greeted them before returning to the drawing room.

Later, in the drawing room, she was allegedly assaulted by Mr Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar. The AAP MP claimed that he kicked her in the chest, stomach and pelvic area and had brutally “dragged her and pulled her shirt up”.

In his first comment on the matter today, Mr Kejriwal said he wishes for a fair investigation. “There are two versions of the event. Police should investigate both versions fairly and justice should be done,” he said, drawing a derisive response from the former chief of the women’s commission.

Ms Maliwal said it was ironic that the person responsible for her “character assassination” is calling for a fair probe.

“After unleashing the entire army of leaders and volunteers at me, calling me a BJP agent, assassinating my character, leaking edited videos, victim shaming me, roaming around with the accused, letting him re enter the crime scene and tamper evidences and protesting in favour of the accused, the Chief Minister, in whose drawing room I was beaten up, has finally said that he wants free and fair investigation in the matter,” the MP said in a post on X.

New Delhi:

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Wednesday alleged that party leaders were being pressured to speak against her and do certain things to defame her.

Ms Maliwal took to X and said: “Yesterday, I got a call from a senior leader of the party. He told me how there is a lot of pressure on everyone, they have to speak dirty things against Swati, they have to break her by leaking her personal photos. It is being said that whoever supports her will be expelled from the party.”

Ms Maliwal claimed that someone has been given the duty of doing press conferences and someone else has been given the duty of tweeting.

“Someone’s duty is to call volunteers sitting in America and get something out against me. Some beat reporters close to the accused have the duty of preparing some fake sting operations,” she further said.

“You may raise an army of thousands, I will face it alone because the truth is with me,” she said in her X post.

“I am not angry with them (AAP leaders), the accused is a very powerful man. Even the biggest leaders are afraid of him. No one has the courage to take a stand against him. I don’t even expect anything from anyone. I feel sad that the woman minister of Delhi is smilingly maligning the character of an old female colleague of the party,” she said.

“I have started a fight for my self-respect, I will continue to fight until I get justice. I am completely alone in this fight but I will not give up!” the post concluded.

कल पार्टी के एक बड़े नेता का फोन आया। उसने बताया कैसे सब पर बहुत ज़्यादा दबाव है, स्वाति के ख़िलाफ़ गंदी बातें बोलनी हैं, उसकी पर्सनल फ़ोटोज़ लीक करके उसे तोड़ना है। ये बोला जा रहा है कि जो उसको सपोर्ट करेगा उसको पार्टी से निकाल देंगे। किसी को PC करने की और किसी को ट्वीट्स करने…

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 22, 2024

On May 18, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested in connection with the assault on Swati Maliwal and produced late at night before a local court which sent him to a five-day police custody.

Delhi Police registered a case against Kumar for molestation and attempted culpable homicide after he allegedly assaulted Ms Maliwal at the Chief Minister’s residence on May 13.

The FIR includes charges under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354(B) (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code at the Civil Lines police station.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has come out in support of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal, who is locked in a face-off with her party over an incident in which she allegedly assaulted by a close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. AAP responded that the Lieutenant Governor’s letter has proved that Ms Maliwal is “working for the BJP”. 

Mr Saxena, who has had frequent confrontations with the AAP government in the national capital over a host of issues, has said in a statement that he was “deeply distressed” over the unfolding media narrative on the issue.

“Yesterday, she (Ms Maliwal) called me out of sheer anguish, describing at length her traumatic experience, and the subsequent intimidation and shaming that she is being subjected to by her own colleagues. She also expressed concerns over reported tampering of evidence and coercion against her,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

“Although Ms. Maliwal has been vociferous, hostile and blatantly partisan towards me and my office, often criticizing me unjustifiably, yet any physical violence and hounding perpetrated on her are inexcusable and unacceptable,” he added in the statement.

The Lieutenant Governor said it is “most disturbing” to note that the alleged scene of crime was the Chief Minister’s drawing room and he was at home. Referring to AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s statement to the media days after the May 13 incident, Mr Saxena wrote, “Her fellow member of Rajya Sabha confirmed her narrative in full media glare, and assured that the CM would take firm action against the culprit – his aide. Subsequently, a total U turn was done in the matter, apparently at the behest of the highest functionary. This too is inexplicable and baffling.”

“I would have expected that at least for the sake of propriety, my CM would have come clean, rather than being evasive and dodgy. His deafening silence speaks volumes of his stance on safety of women,” the statement said.

Delhi, the Lieutenant Governor said, is the national capital and home to the entire diplomatic community from around the world. “Such shameful incidents and the insensitive and conspiratorial contemptuous government response, on an issue of women safety, tarnishes India’s image worldwide. Had such an incident happened in any other Chief Minister’s residence in the country, external forces with vested interests, inimical to India, would have unleashed a scathing global narrative around women safety in India. The absence of any outrage in this case leaves several questions unanswered,” he said, adding, “Delhi Police is investigating the matter and I assure that the matter will be brought to its logical conclusion.”

Responding to the Lieutenant Governor’s strong statement, AAP said his letter “proves that Swati Maliwal is working for the BJP”. “With the elections on, the BJP is bringing a new conspiracy daily, from liquor scam to Swati Maliwal to foreign funding. The BJP is losing badly, so they are trying to revive their prospects by using the Swati Maliwal issue.”

Ms Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha member and former chief of Delhi Commission for Women, has alleged that Bibhav Kumar, Mr Kejriwal’s long-time aide and his former personal secretary, assaulted her during an altercation when she went to meet the Chief Minister on May 13 at his residence. An FIR has been filed, and Bibhav Kumar has been arrested.

The AAP, which had earlier said Mr Kejriwal has directed strict action against his aide, later alleged that the BJP is trying to include Ms Maliwal in a conspiracy. “The anti-corruption bureau of the BJP has filed a case against Swati Maliwal regarding the illegal recruitment of contractual employees in DCW. A charge sheet has been filed and the time of conviction is coming, we believe that Swati Maliwal is being included in the conspiracy by using this case,” Delhi minister Atishi said.

The Delhi Chief Minister on Sunday led a protest march to the BJP headquarters and alleged that Bibhav Kumar’s arrest was part of BJP’s ‘Operation Jhadoo’ to crush AAP by jailing its leaders. He did not directly remark on Ms Maliwal’s allegations. Hitting back, the BJP said the AAP leader did not hit the streets for his jailed colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, but was doing so for his aide accused of assaulting a woman MP from his party.

New Delhi:

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal said that until she filed a complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bhibav Kumar, she was referred to as the “Lady Singham” but today she is a “BJP agent”.

“Since yesterday, Delhi ministers are spreading lies that an FIR has been filed against me for corruption, which is why I did this on the BJP’s instruction. The FIR was lodged eight years ago in 2016, after which the Chief Minister and the Lt Governor appointed me as the Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women twice. The case was completely fake on which the High Court put a stay for 1.5 years,” Ms Maliwal wrote in a detailed post on X.

In 2016, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a charge sheet against Ms Maliwal, accusing her of making unlawful appointments in the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and alleging that she favoured AAP workers.

“According to them, until I filed a complaint against Bibhav Kumar, I was ‘Lady Singham’ and today I have become a BJP agent,” Ms Maliwal said.

“The entire troll army was deployed against me because I spoke the truth. Everyone in the party is being called and told to send Swati’s personal video if they have one, as it has to be leaked. They’re putting my relatives’ lives in danger by tweeting their details, including their car numbers,” she alleged.

“Well, lies don’t last long. But in the intoxication of power and in the passion to bring someone down, it should not happen that when the truth comes out, you are not able to look even your family in the eye. I will take you to court for every lie you spread,” she wrote.

Last week, Swati Maliwal filed an FIR against Bibhav Kumar for allegedly assaulting her when she went to meet Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi’s Civil Lines area on May 13. The police have taken Mr Kumar into custody.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The police took Bibhav Kumar, accused of assaulting AAP MP Swati Maliwal, to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence today to recreate the alleged crime scene, an officer said.

Mr Kumar has been interrogated and the statements of around 20 people have been recorded in connection with the case, the Delhi Police officer said.

The statements of the Chief Minister and his family may also be taken if required, he said.

On Saturday, Mr Kejriwal’s aide was arrested from the Chief Minister’s residence and sent to five-day police custody.

“A team of Delhi Police officers took him to the Chief Minister’s residence to recreate the crime scene and corroborate the sequence of the incident around 5:45 pm. They remained there for almost an hour and later took him to his house, which is in the same area,” the officer said.

Swati Maliwal filed an FIR against Bibhav Kumar for allegedly assaulting her when she had gone to meet Mr Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi’s Civil Lines area on May 13. The Delhi Police later added another charge in the FIR – destruction of evidence, the officer said.

During interrogation, the investigators asked Mr Kumar why he had gone to the Chief Minister’s house on May 18, five days after the alleged incident and the day he was arrested. He was also asked about his equation with Ms Maliwal and why she was at Mr Kejriwal’s home on May 13, the officer said.

According to police, the statements of around 20 people, including the Delhi Police personnel who attended the PCR calls made by Ms Maliwal from the Chief Minister’s residence, have been recorded. This also includes some personnel posted at the Civil Lines police station, the police said.

The officer said there are a few more people whose statements are yet to be recorded.

The investigators plan to take Mr Kumar to Mumbai as they suspect he has dumped his phone data on another system before getting it formatted, the officer said.

Mr Kumar’s phone and the CCTV’s DVR were recovered from Mr Kejriwal’s home and will be sent to the forensic laboratory for further examinations. Footage from eight CCTV cameras and DVRs were collected but some did not have videos of the incident, the officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The CCTV footage of the May 13 incident, in which AAP MP Swati Maliwal was allegedly assaulted at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, may have been tampered by main accused Bibhav Kumar to destroy evidence, Delhi Police have said.

In its remand note, police have said a portion of the footage from CCTV cameras at the Chief Minister’s residence is showing blank.

Ms Maliwal took to social media to stress this point. Referring to the 2012 Delhi gangrape-murder, she tweeted, “There was a time when he hit the streets to get justice for Nirbhaya. Twelve years later, they are hitting the streets to save an accused who deleted CCTV footage and formatted the phone. I wish they had tried so hard for Manish Sisodia. If he was here, maybe something so bad would not have happened to me,” she said. Mr Sisodia, Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister, is in jail for over a year now in the Delhi liquor policy case.

Police have said they have not received the Digital Video Recorder so that they can scan the May 13 footage as part of their probe. The CCTV cameras at the Chief Minister’s residence come under the purview of the Public Works Department (PWD). A junior engineer from the department has given police one video in a pen drive that was found blank, the remand note says. The investigation revealed that the junior engineer does not have access to the DVR, it adds.

Bibhav Kumar, Chief Minister Kejriwal’s close aide, has been arrested and remanded in police custody for five days.

Delhi Police have said the accused is not cooperating in the probe. They have said he worked in the influential position of the Chief Minister’s personal secretary for nine years and can tamper evidence and influence witnesses. The remand note also says Bibhav Kumar was appointed as the Chief Minister’s personal secretary in February 2015 and removed in April this year over a 2007 case of obstructing a public servant from working. Police are now probing why he was still working at the Chief Minister’s residence.

The remand note says assault on an MP is a very serious matter and the attack could have turned fatal. When Bibhav Kumar was questioned about the incident, he was evasive, it adds. The statement of Ms Maliwal is consistent with her medical report, it says.

The accused’s iPhone 15 has been formatted and needs to be examined by a data expert, police have said.

Bibhav Kumar’s counsel Rajiv Mohan has said Ms Maliwal visited the Chief Minister’s residence without an appointment and that Delhi Police was distorting facts. He also said she filed the police complaint on May 16 — three days after the incident.

He said neither did Ms Maliwal seek any medical aid after calling the emergency helpline, nor did the station house officer prepare any medical sheet after meeting her.

The lawyer alleged that Ms Maliwal was politicising the issue of having suffered injuries and giving statements to the media.

In its rebuttal, the Delhi Police counsel said that according to the FIR, Ms Maliwal was “in shock” after the assault and filed a police complaint after recovering.

A Rajya Sabha member and former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, Ms Maliwal has alleged that Bibhav Kumar had slapped her multiple times and kicked her during the May 13 incident. AAP MP Sanjay Singh had earlier said the Chief Minister’s aide had misbehaved with her and that Mr Kejriwal will take strict action. The AAP has now said the BJP has made Ms Maliwal part of a conspiracy.

“Anti-Corruption Bureau of the BJP has filed a case against Swati Maliwal regarding the illegal recruitment of contractual employees in DCW. A charge sheet has been filed and the time of conviction is coming, we believe that Swati Maliwal is being included in the conspiracy by using this case.” AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atisi told the media yesterday.

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar has been sent to police custody for five days for allegedly assaulting AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.

In a late-night hearing yesterday, Delhi Police – while seeking Bibhav Kumar’s custody – contended before the court that it was a “serious case” where the “brutal assault” could have turned “fatal”.

“This is a very serious case where a Member of Parliament, a public figure, has been brutally assaulted which could have been fatal. Despite specific questions, the accused has not cooperated in the investigation and has been evasive in his replies,” said remand application signed by Anjitha Chepyala, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Delhi.

Police said custodial interrogation is required to find out the motive behind brutal attack and to ascertain the “conspiracy angles”.

The remand plea said they asked for the phone password of Mr Kumar, who had been working with the chief minister since 2015, but it was not given to them. Alleging that the official had destroyed evidence, they said the cellphone was formatted in Mumbai and he had claimed he had done so because it had hung.

Laying out the reasons for seeking his custody, the police said he would be taken to Mumbai and an expert would also be needed to unlock the phone, which is not possible without his presence.

Police said that Mr Kumar could threaten witnesses and tamper evidence as he was in a “position of command”

“His presence at the scene of the crime (SOC) raises a strong possibility of tampering with crucial evidence, including electronic evidence. The accused is an influential person and having worked more than nine years in an authoritative position can influence, and pressure the witnesses in the CM house,” it said.

Mr Kumar was arrested yesterday for allegedly assaulting AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the chief minister’s residence on Monday. Ms Maliwal had alleged Mr Kumar had kicked her in the chest, stomach and pelvic area and had brutally “dragged her and pulled her shirt up”.

In her FIR, Ms Maliwal alleged that she was brutally assaulted by Bibhav Kumar when she went to the Chief Minister’s residence. She alleged that she was kicked, punched and abused by Mr Kumar, who is the personal secretary to Mr Kejriwal. The 39-year-old also said that her clothes were torn, and she received severe injuries on her head and her leg during the assault.

But in the new CCTV footage, Swati Maliwal does not appear to have any injuries and is even seen trying to free herself from the policewoman’s grip.

The Aam Aadmi Party and Swati Maliwal have been trading bitter barbs as each pushed back against the other over the latter’s claims

 

New Delhi:

In a late-night hearing on Saturday, a Delhi court has sent Bibhav Kumar, the personal assistant to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, to police custody for five days. 

Mr Kumar was arrested earlier in the day for allegedly assaulting AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the chief minister’s residence on Monday. Ms Maliwal had alleged Mr Kumar had kicked her in the chest, stomach and pelvic area and had brutally “dragged her and pulled her shirt up”.

The Delhi Police, which presented Mr Kumar before the Tis Hazari court and sought his custody for seven days, said the Rajya Sabha MP was badly beaten, the buttons of her top were open and that they have got some CCTV footage from the chief minister’s residence.

The police said they asked for the phone password of Mr Kumar, who had been working with the chief minister since 2015, but it was not given to them. Alleging that the official had destroyed evidence, they said the cellphone was formatted in Mumbai and he had claimed he had done so because it had hung. 

Laying out the reasons for seeking his custody, the police said he would be taken to Mumbai and an expert would also be needed to unlock the phone, which is not possible without his presence. Custodial interrogation is also required to find out the reasons for assaulting the MP, they argued. 

‘Why The Delay?’

Bibhav Kumar’s lawyer, Rajiv Mohan, pointed out that the alleged incident took place on Monday and the first information report was lodged on Thursday. No reason was given for the delay, he stressed. 

Speaking about the day’s events, Mr Mohan said Ms Maliwal had gone not to the chief minister’s office but to his residence without anybody asking her to do so. The time at which she went is also not the official time to meet anyone, he said. 

“You (Ms Maliwal) are saying that you used to go there like this, but there is no record of it. What was her purpose for going to the chief minister’s residence that day? It is not clear,” Mr Mohan told the court.  

Referring to Mr Kejriwal being on interim bail in the liquor scam case till June 2, the lawyer said  the chief minister is busy since it is election time and has been given a limited number of days by the Supreme Court. 

He said Ms Maliwal went and sat on a sofa in the drawing room and had the option of going back if she could not meet the chief minister.

“A video of her coming out of the chief minister’s residence is being circulated in the media, in which she is wearing a kurti and not a shirt. Talk of her buttons being open is not correct and neither is talk of her head banging against the central table,” Mr Mohan said. 

Accusing the Delhi Police of distorting the facts, Mr Mohan asked why the AAP leader had not filed an FIR when she had called a police helpline, 112, from the residence itself. He said she must have got a response in the posh area but did not ask for any medical help.

The lawyer said that Ms Maliwal met the Station House Officer of the Civil Lines Police Station and asked why the officer had not made a medical sheet if there was a grievous injury. He also questioned why she didn’t register a complaint at the police station. 

‘Entered Without Permission’

“You entered there (the chief minister’s residence) without permission, this is a crime. The section officer of the security staff had given a report in this regard on the same day,” he said. 

The lawyer added that the Supreme Court has ruled that no one can be pressured to share their phone’s password and also informed the court that there was no CCTV camera in the drawing room.

Earlier in the day, the Tis Hazari court had rejected Mr Kumar’s anticipatory bail stating that it was infructuous since had already been arrested.  

On this, Advocate Shadan Farasat said Mr Kumar was arrested when the anticipatory bail petition was being heard so that it became ineffective. He said the official was not told the grounds for his arrest either. 

Earlier Accusation

Responding to these arguments, the lawyer appearing for the police addressed the issue of the delay in filing an FIR and said Ms Maliwal was disturbed that an old acquaintance of hers had assaulted her. On the bail issue, the lawyer said there is no judgment that stops the police from effecting an arrest when an anticipatory bail hearing is on.

Referring to the video brought up by the defence, the lawyer said it was given to the media and not to the police and pointed out that Mr Kumar had earlier been accused of threatening a government official in Noida as well.