In a dramatic twist, Delhi Police on Monday claimed the college student who had alleged an acid attack made a false claim at the behest of her father, who sought revenge over a rape complaint, HT reported earlier.
The father has been arrested for allegedly staging the acid attack using a toilet cleaner and for raping the wife of the man his daughter had accused of throwing “acid” at her.
What did the woman claim?
On Sunday morning, a 20-year-old second-year BCom student enrolled in Delhi University’s Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board alleged that she had been attacked with acid by three men.
Also Read | Big ‘toilet cleaner’ twist in Delhi acid attack case, father of ‘victim’ held
She named the three as Jitender and his two accomplices, Ishan and Arman, both brothers, and, as it later turned out, her relatives.
According to the police, she claimed that she was attacked when she was on her way to attend an extra class.
She was admitted to RML Hospital with burn injuries on her hands.
On Sunday, DCP (Northwest) Bhisham Singh had initially stated that the alleged attacker had been “stalking her for months”.
However, the police found discrepancies in the student’s statement and Jitender’s location away from the crime spot.
Also Read | Delhi acid attack case: Key suspect’s location raised suspicion, victim’s father held
Here are 5 revelations according to the police:
- The father of the student allegedly told investigators that he and his daughter fabricated the acid attack story to falsely implicate the woman’s husband and his two relatives, all of whom were involved in legal and personal disputes with him. “He admitted that the entire case was orchestrated to settle scores,” said a senior officer involved in the probe.
- “We have CCTV camera footage and call detail records (CDRs) that challenge her statement,” said special commissioner of police (law and order) Ravindra Singh Yadav. The investigator cited above said they now believe that the woman used a toilet cleaner taken from her home to injure herself and stage the attack.
Also Read | Delhi University college student attacked with acid by stalker
- Police said two days before the supposed acid assault, on Friday, the wife of the same man had lodged a complaint accusing the father of the 20-year-old of rape and blackmail. She told police that she had worked at his factory between 2021 and 2024, during which time the man allegedly raped her and threatened her with private photos and videos. When called for questioning in that case, the rape accused sent his lawyer and an Islamic preacher instead of appearing himself, prompting police to launch a search. He was eventually tracked to Sangam Vihar and arrested late Monday.
- The two other men accused in the acid attack case were verified to have been in Agra with their mother at the time of the incident. Police said the woman, who is distantly related to the rape accused, had herself been a victim of an acid attack in 2018 and is currently embroiled in a property dispute with him.
- The CCTV camera footage showed that, on Sunday, the woman left her house on a two-wheeler with her brother, who dropped her in the Ashok Vihar area. From there, she was seen boarding an e-rickshaw. None of the three alleged accused is seen in the footage, said the police. “We are also examining why her brother did not drop her at the college gate. He has been unavailable and is not joining the investigation,” the DCP said. Officers who examined the scene said they found no trace of acid, and the burns on the woman’s hands remain under medical review.
