Party mulls legal options after Bibhav Kumar’s arrest

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, May 19

After the Delhi Police arrested Chief Minister’s close aide Bibhav Kumar in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, the party is considering viable options available in the case.

The AAP has faced a setback just days ahead of the polls in the Capital, with the party’s legal team narrowing down to two-three options. An AAP leader mentioned that Kumar’s lawyer argued that a copy of the FIR was not presented during his arrest.

Kumar’s counsel contended that he was arrested solely to defeat the purpose of filing the anticipatory bail. In response, the Delhi Police’s counsel cited the FIR, stating that Maliwal was “in shock” after the assault and lodged the official complaint after recovering.

“We are finalising the decision; we can challenge the FIR, his police remand can also be challenged, and the third option is to file a bail application. We shall be finalising the details by the end of today or tomorrow,” he added.

Police sources said Kumar did not provide the password of his mobile phone to the investigating agency and informed them that his phone had been formatted in Mumbai due to malfunctioning.

Kumar’s counsel, Rajiv Mohan, stated that there was no record of Maliwal’s visit to the Chief Minister’s residence before May 13, and she did not clarify the reason for registering the FIR only on May 16. The FIR was lodged at the Civil Lines police station. He further alleged that Maliwal visited the CM’s residence without an appointment and accused the Delhi Police of distorting facts.