'Swati Maliwal facing corruption case, blackmailed by BJP': AAP MP Atishi
New Delhi: AAP leader Atishi claimed on Saturday that party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar of assault, is facing charges in an illegal recruitment case and was "blackmailed" by the BJP to join the "conspiracy" against the Chief Minister, media reported.
Atishi, also a cabinet minister in the Delhi government, pointed out that it has been 24 hours since Kumar filed a complaint against Maliwal, yet the police have not registered an FIR.
Describing the Delhi Police a "tool of the BJP," she accused it of targeting Kejriwal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP has accused Kumar of tampering the CCTV footage and circulating the edited videos to tarnish Maliwal's image.
Atishi accused Maliwal of barging into Kejriwal’s residence without an appointment and claimed that she could have made the same allegation against the CM had he met her that day instead of Kumar.
Atishi alleged that BJP acts as per a pattern under which it first files cases against leaders and then threatens them with arrest.
“Swati Maliwal is facing charges in an illegal recruitment case registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch. An FIR has been registered in the case and it is at a stage where she could be arrested. The BJP blackmailed Maliwal and made her the face of this conspiracy," she was quoted as saying by PTI.
Accusing the Delhi Police of impartiality, Atishi questioned if the Delhi Police would file a case against Maliwal for trespassing and blocking a government servant from discharging his duties.
She said Maliwal’s call records should be checked to uncover her nexus with the BJP.
A Rajya Sabha member and former chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, Maliwal has alleged that Bibhav Kumar slapped her multiple times and kicked her when she went to meet the Chief Minister at his residence on May 13.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh had earlier stated that the Chief Minister's aide had misbehaved with her and that Kejriwal will take strict action, said the report.
The BJP has called the incident "shameful". Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva told news agency ANI, "I am happy that the accused Bibhav Kumar has been arrested. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should break his silence on this matter because he was present at that time in that house. A woman has been assaulted in that house. It would be good if people of the AAP would have come in support of her. We welcome the investigation initiated against him and hope that strict action is taken against him."