AAP leader Swati Maliwal, who has accused Bibhav Kumar, an aide to party chief Arvind Kejriwal, of assaulting her inside the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence in Civil Lines, has responded strongly to a 52-second mobile phone video. In the video, she is briefly seen and heard arguing with and shouting at security officials who were instructing her to leave the premises. Ms. Swati Maliwal, making her first public comment on the controversy, demanded action against those who allegedly assaulted her, stating on X, “The last few days have been very difficult…”

हर बार की तरह इस बार भी इस राजनीतिक हिटमैन ने ख़ुद को बचाने की कोशिशें शुरू कर दी हैं।

अपने लोगों से ट्वीट्स करवाके, आधि बिना संदर्भ की वीडियो चलाके इसे लगता है ये इस अपराध को अंजाम देके ख़ुद को बचा लेगा। कोई किसी को पीटते हुए वीडियो बनाता है भला? घर के अंदर की और कमरे की CCTV…
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 17, 2024

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ms. Swati Maliwal referred to a “political hitman”—a remark widely interpreted as targeting Mr. Kejriwal—and accused this “hitman” of instructing “his people” to share the video in question to construct a narrative defending the party and “protect himself after committing this crime.”

“Like always… this political hitman has begun efforts to protect himself. By having his people tweet and share videos out of context, he believes he can evade responsibility after committing this crime.” “Who records a video of someone being assaulted? The truth will come to light when the CCTV footage of the house and room is examined,” Ms. Maliwal asserted.