Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar "misbehaved" with Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the CM's residence, party leader Sanjay Singh said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference a day after Maliwal alleged that a member of Kejriwal's personal staff "assaulted" her, Singh said AAP supremo Kejriwal will take strict action in the matter.
Bharatiya Janata Party demanded that Singh's statement should be the basis for immediate filing of an FIR by police and those guilty should be promptly dealt with.
The police, however, said they are still waiting for her to come and file a formal complaint, but added that they have not closed the DD (daily diary) entry as Maliwal had come to the police station on Monday and said she would return to lodge a case.
Calls and messages to Maliwal did not elicit any response.
National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma expressed concern over Maliwal's safety in a post on X. She wondered if Maliwal was under pressure not to lodge a police complaint and urged the AAP leader to "speak up".
During the press conference on Tuesday, Singh said it is a "highly condemnable incident" and added the Aam Aadmi Party is in solidarity with her during this hour.
"Yesterday morning, Maliwal had gone to meet Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. While she was waiting to meet him in the drawing room, Bibhav Kumar came and misbehaved with her. This is a highly condemnable incident. Kejriwal has taken cognisance of it and will take strict action in the incident," he added.
Maliwal was earlier the chief of the Delhi Commission For Women.
"Maliwal has done a lot of work for the country and society. She is a senior party leader. We are with her during this time. The party does not support those (who insult women). The whole incident has been taken seriously by Kejriwal," he said, adding that she had reported the matter to the police by calling on 112.
Maliwal on Monday went to the Civil Lines Police Station and alleged that a member of the Delhi chief minister's personal staff "assaulted' her at the chief minister's official residence, police officials had said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the AAP's silence regarding the incident on Monday reflects the mentality of the party.
"Sanjay Singh's statement that the party will take action in the matter is quite embarrassing..." he said.
Sachdeva said instead of deciding after violence against a woman, arrests should have been made immediately.
"Sanjay Singh claims that Arvind Kejriwal was not there at the time, but the BJP knows through sources that this entire incident occurred at the behest of and in front of Arvind Kejriwal," he alleged.
The Delhi BJP president questioned why so much pressure was put on Maliwal and why she was silenced.
He said that the Chief Minister's residence is famous for such incidents, whether it was the incident with the former chief secretary or misbehaviour with Maliwal.
In February 2018, the then Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash, had alleged that he was assaulted by AAP MLAs at Kejriwal's residence in the presence of the chief minister and Manish Sisodia, who was then the deputy chief minister.
According to a police officer, they can initiate action in the matter if the complainant herself comes to the police station and formally files a case or emails a complaint to police.
In case, the victim puts out a post on social media, the police can also take cognisance of this, the officer said.
