Kejriwal's wife 'relieved' over Bibhav's aide's bail, Swati Maliwal hits back

New Delhi, September 4 (IANS): A major row has erupted over Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal expressing her “relief” over her bail to close confidant Bibhav Kumar, the suspect accused of thrashing Swati Maliwal, former chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), at the Chief Minister's residence on May 13.

Sunita Kejriwal took to X and shared a photo of Kejriwal’s PS Bibhav Kumar and captioned the post, “Sukoon bhara din” (a day of relief).

Swati Maliwal, the AAP MP in the Rajya Sabha, took strong exception to her comments and attacked the brazen defence of her tormentor by none other than the Prime Minister’s wife.

Swati Maliwal, who fell out with the party after the infamous attack, shared the screenshot of Sunita Kejriwal's “I feel relieved” post and criticised AAP's grand claims on justice for women.

“The Chief Minister's wife, who was at home when I was beaten up, is very 'relieved' because the man who beat me in his house and misbehaved with me has been released on bail,” Maliwal wrote.

She slammed the AAP, saying the party gives perpetrators a “free hand” to commit crimes against women and then protects them with its army of lawyers.

“This is a clear message to everyone: beat up the women, then we will first do dirty trolling, completely ruin the victim and hire an army of the most expensive lawyers in the country to save the man in court,” she added.

Sunita Kejriwal's “relieved” that Bibhav Kumar has been released on bail will draw public anger and also provide an opportunity for the BJP to ridicule its lofty claims of justice for women.

Bibhav is specifically on trial for the alleged attack on the party's Rajya Sabha MP at the Delhi Chief Minister's residence and was in custody for more than 100 days before the Supreme Court granted him bail on Tuesday.

He was not acquitted of any charges and remains the main accused in the Swati Maliwal case. The former DCW chief had alleged that Bibhav beat her up and dragged her to the CM's residence while the latter was present in the house.