After a late-night hearing on May 18, a city court sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar to five days in police custody in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal. Meanwhile, a team of Delhi Police on Sunday seized a laptop and CCTV digital video record (DVR) from the residence of Kejriwal. Along with this, some documents were also taken away by the Delhi Police from the Chief Minister's residence in the alleged assault on May 13 when Kumar, allegedly attacked Maliwal.

The Delhi Police, in its remand paper, has described the alleged assault on Maliwal by Kumar as a “serious case” involving a “brutal assault” that could have turned “fatal.”

During the hearing, the court observed that “the fact that the video footage was not found in the pen drive provided  to the investigating officer (IO) during the course of the investigation and the mobile phone was formatted by the accused speaks volumes.”

Magistrate Gaurav Goyal was hearing the application of Delhi Police which was represented by Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava. The police had sought seven day custody.

“Considering the submissions made on behalf of both the parties, I find there is a necessity of police custody remand in the present case. Accordingly, the application moved by the IO is partly allowed and the accused is remanded to police custody for five days,” the court said in its order passed around 12:45 AM Sunday. It noted the prosecution's submissions about the need to take Kumar to Mumbai and other parts of the national Capital to collect evidence, which was not possible without the accused's custody. “Admittedly, the case is at a nascent stage. Allegations made in the FIR are corroborated in her (Maliwal's) statement recorded by the magistrate on oath and further, it is again corroborated in the medico-legal case (MLC) of the victim or complainant,” the court said.  The magistrate also observed, “I am aware of the view of Constitutional courts that the opportunity must be given to the investigating agency to complete the investigation in order to reach the truth of the matter but at the same time the rights of the accused are also to be protected.”

Asking the Investigating Officer to take Kumar into formal custody, the court directed his medical examination every 24 hours and said the investigating agency would not subject the accused to “any torture.” It also allowed Kumar to meet his advocate and wife for half an hour each during the police custody.

Kumar's application for providing requisite medicines was also allowed. The proceedings which commenced around 9: 15 PM Saturday saw initial arguments by Srivastava following which the magistrate said, “I find force in the arguments of the APP (Additional Public Prosecutor) that there were sufficient grounds to arrest the accused without notice.”

 The police, through their counsel, had sought seven days of custody to question Kumar in connection with the assault case. It is alleged that Kumar, the personal assistant of Kejriwal, assaulted Maliwal at the CM's residence on the morning of May 13.

In the remand paper, signed by North District additional deputy commissioner of Police Anjitha Chepyala, it was asserted that the assault on Maliwal was a “serious case” with the potential to turn “fatal.” The document highlighted Kumar's alleged lack of cooperation with the investigation, saying that he had been evasive in his responses.  This is a very serious case where a Member of Parliament, a public figure, has been brutally assaulted which could have been fatal. Despite specific questions, the accused has not cooperated in the investigation and has been evasive in his replies,” said Chepyala.

Kumar's counsel, Rajiv Mohan, countered the arguments by stating that there was no record of Maliwal's visit to the CM's residence before May 13, nor did she clarify why the FIR was only registered on May 16. He mentioned that the FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police station and argued that Maliwal had visited the CM's residence without an appointment, accusing the Delhi Police of distorting facts. Mohan further argued that Maliwal did not seek any medical aid after calling the emergency helpline number 112, nor did the station house officer prepare any medical sheet after meeting her. He alleged that Maliwal was politicising her injuries and making statements to the media.

According to the remand application, Maliwal's testimony before the magistrate was supported by medical evidence. The plea detailed Maliwal's allegations, including verbal abuse and physical assault, which reportedly occurred at the CM's residence.

According to Maliwal's allegations, Kumar screamed, threatened and used abusive language against her, besides being “brutally assaulting”, dragging and banging her head on a centre table, the plea said. It said that the “most vital evidence” was the digital video record (DVR) of the spot but it was yet to be provided to the police.

According to the plea seeking police custody, a junior engineer in the CM's residence, after admitting that he did not have access to the place where the DVR and CCTV cameras were installed, provided a video of the dining room but it was later found to be blank at the time of the alleged incident.

Crucially, the remand application emphasized the importance of obtaining digital evidence, particularly the digital video record (DVR) from the location. However, despite efforts, the requested evidence had not yet been provided to the police.

The plea also raised concerns about Kumar's continued presence at the CM's residence, suggesting a risk of tampering with evidence. It cited Kumar's previous termination as the CM's personal secretary and his alleged involvement in another assault case in Noida.

His presence at the scene of the crime (SOC) raises a strong possibility of tampering with crucial evidence, including electronic evidence. The accused is an influential person and having worked more than nine years in an authoritative position can influence, and pressure the witnesses in the CM house,” it said. Explaining the reasons for police custody, the application said after being terminated as the CM's personal secretary in April 2024, Kumar was still working in the CM's residence and needed to be quizzed about the capacity and authority under which he was working.  It said another case was registered against Kumar in Noida for allegedly assaulting an on-duty public servant.

Moreover, the remand paper highlighted Kumar's recent actions, including the alleged formatting of his mobile phone in Mumbai, which authorities believe could contain crucial evidence pertinent to the investigation.

“Without the personal presence and assistance of the accused, as this instrument is password protected, the phone and its apps cannot be accessed. Also, he has to be taken to an expert to retrieve the mobile data and to ascertain the factum of formatting of the mobile phone of the accused, which is an important piece of evidence,” the plea for remand said. It said that Kumar could threaten witnesses and tamper evidence as he was in a “position of command” and also had “access to the SOC”