Swati Maliwal alleges death and rape threats after YouTuber Dhruv Rathee's 'one-sided video' against her
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing feud with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over an alleged assault by Arvind Kejriwal's PA Bibhav Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal stated on Sunday that she has been receiving rape and death threats following a "character assassination" campaign "orchestrated" by her party leaders and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
The former Chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) shared several screenshots of abusive messages she has received on social media platforms.
She claimed that the situation escalated after Rathee posted a "one-sided video" against her.
“After the leaders and volunteers of my party, i.e., AAP orchestrated a campaign of character assassination, victim shaming, and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats. This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided video against me,” Maliwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
After the leaders and volunteers of my party i.e. AAP orchestrated a campaign of charachter assassination, victim shaming and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats.
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) May 26, 2024
This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided… pic.twitter.com/EfCHHWW0xu
She alleged that the AAP leadership is trying to intimidate her into withdrawing her complaint against Bibhav Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide.
Maliwal also said she was disappointed with the YouTuber, stating that despite her efforts to contact him and share her side of the story, he ignored her calls and messages.
“As far as the party leadership goes, it is very clear that they are trying to intimidate me into withdrawing my complaint. However, for Dhruv, I tried my best to reach out to him to tell him my version but he ignored my calls and messages. It is shameful that people like him, who claim to be independent journalists could act like other AAP spokespersons and victim shame me to the extent that I am now facing extreme abuses and threats.” she added.
She further outlined five points she believed were overlooked in Dhruv Rathee’s 2.5-minute video. She questioned why Rathee failed to mention that AAP reversed its stance after initially acknowledging the incident, or discuss her medicolegal case (MLC) report, which documents injuries resulting from the assault.
“Selected part of the video was released and then the phone of the accused was formatted… The accused was arrested from the crime scene (CM house). Why was he allowed to enter the place again? For tampering of evidence?… How a woman who always stood for the right issues, even went to Manipur alone without security could be bought over by the BJP,” she asked.
She also said that she was reporting the death and rape threats to the Delhi Police and demanded strong punishment against the perpetrators.
“The manner in which the entire party machinery and its supporters have attempted to vilify and shame me speaks volumes about their stand on women’s issues. I am reporting these rape and death threats to @DelhiPolice. I hope they take strong action against the perpetrators,” Maliwal said.
She ended her statement by noting, “In any case, if something happens to me, we know who instigated it.”
Bibhav Kumar was arrested on May 18 in connection with the assault on Swati Maliwal at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on May 13.
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