Political hit job, says AAP

Swati sees U-turn after an AAP leader admitted to a 'condemnable incident'| CCTV footage of CM's residence muddies waters further

- GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR

The Swati Maliwal assault saga assumed a political colour on Friday with allegations flying thick and fast. AAP leader Atishi initiated the exchange by charging that it was at the behest of the BJP that the AAP Rajya Sabha MP had levelled false allegations of assault against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar.

The back and forth allegations emanated even as former DCW chief Maliwal recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a magistrate in which she accused Kejriwal's PA of assaulting her at the CM's residence on May 13. In another development, which dovetailed the recording of the testimony, a team of Delhi police went to Kumar's residence but he was not present. The police believe that he was on a campaign tour with Kejriwal. While Kumar's arrest now looks imminent, the role of Kejriwal in the entire case has also come under the scanner.

ATTACK: The ATISHI'S AAP defence by Atishi went off the tangent on Friday and became a shrill attack on the BJP. She also contradicted the stand of her own party colleague and MP Sanjay Singh, who had said a day after the May 13 episode that there had been a "condemnable incident" at the CM's residence and that Kumar had "misbehaved" with Maliwal for which the party would take "strict action".