Delhi Police: Kejriwal Aide Allegedly Formats Phone, Non-Cooperative In Assault Probe

Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested in connection with the assault case involving Swati Maliwal, allegedly formatted his phone and is not cooperating with the investigation, according to Delhi Police.

Kumar was apprehended on Saturday following accusations from Maliwal that he assaulted her at the Chief Minister's residence on May 13. In their application seeking Kumar's custody, police stated that he reformatted his phone in Mumbai a day prior to his arrest.

Sources suggest that Kumar, who has been placed in five-day police custody, claimed to law enforcement that he formatted his mobile device due to technical issues.

The police team is reportedly planning to enlist the assistance of forensic experts to retrieve data from Kumar's phone. Additionally, they expressed suspicion that evidence may have been tampered with, as CCTV footage from Chief Minister Kejriwal's residence during the alleged assault was reportedly unavailable.

On Sunday, the police visited Kejriwal's residence and seized the CCTV digital video recorder (DVR). There are plans to take Kumar to the Chief Minister's residence to recreate the alleged crime scene.

Kumar, the former personal secretary to Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested on Saturday following allegations made by Swati Maliwal, an AAP Rajya MP, who accused him of assaulting her during her visit to the Chief Minister's residence on May 13.

However, the AAP has refuted Maliwal's claims, alleging that she was coerced by the BJP into participating in a conspiracy against Arvind Kejriwal due to her involvement in a corruption case.

Three days after the purported incident, the AAP released a video, filmed on a mobile phone, showing Maliwal arguing with security guards at the Chief Minister's residence. In the footage, she can be heard threatening the guards with police intervention and challenging them to remove her forcibly.

Maliwal has asserted that the CCTV footage from the May 13 incident, where she alleges she was assaulted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, has gone missing, and edited videos are being circulated.