Kumar is under a five-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault on Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha MP, at the CM’s Delhi residence, the report added.
Police reported that Kumar had formatted his phone before transferring the data to some person or device in Mumbai, as quoted by ANI.
“His mobile phone was seized following his arrest but it was found to have been formatted,” they said, as quoted by ANI.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak launched a fierce criticism of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, following allegations of assault by Swati Maliwal involving Kejriwal’s former aide. Pathak declared that Kejriwal has been “completely exposed.”
“Kejriwal has been completely exposed. His two-faced character has been revealed,” Pathak stated on Tuesday.
“The media reports we have been seeing about receiving foreign funds regarding respect for women are very sad. We condemn it as strongly as possible, and the people of the country, the people of Delhi, will never forgive him,” he added.
Pathak’s remarks follow allegations by Swati Maliwal against Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal’s former personal aide. Maliwal accused Kumar of physically assaulting her at the Chief Minister’s residence, claiming he “slapped” her “at least seven to eight times,” “brutally dragged” her, and “kicked” her in her “chest, stomach, and pelvis area.”
In response to these allegations, Delhi Police took Kumar to the CM’s residence on May 20 to recreate the crime scene. Kumar was arrested and remanded to police custody for five days by the Tis Hazari Court.
Bibhav Kumar lodged a counter-complaint, accusing Maliwal of gaining ‘unauthorised entry’ into the CM’s Civil Lines residence and ‘verbally abusing’ him.
Commenting on the incident, Pathak said, “The incident that happened with Maliwal is very sad. Kejriwal should apologize to the women of the country, and strict action should be taken against whoever is guilty.”
Adding to Kejriwal’s troubles, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by accepting foreign donations.
Pathak also commented on the political scene in Uttar Pradesh, dismissing the potential impact of joint rallies by Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. He confidently asserted, “Their partnership will prove to be superfluous. They will get zero seats this time.”
Pathak further predicted a sweeping victory for the BJP, claiming, “BJP is winning in all 80 seats in the state. After the 5th phase of the election, we can say that BJP is getting all the seats so far…Congress is derailed and it is going to lose in Raebareli too.”
Nine seats in western Uttar Pradesh, including Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, and Rampur, went to polls in the first phase of the general elections on May 20.
In the 2019 elections, despite the SP-BSP ‘Mahagatbandhan’ in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) won 64 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The SP and BSP could only secure 15 seats.
The festival of democracy began on Friday, with 102 constituencies across 21 states and Union Territories polling in the first phase.
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Published: 21 May 2024, 01:15 PM IST