DU student's acid attack claim fake; father staged incident using toilet cleaner to frame rival

NEW DELHI: The Delhi college student who alleged an acid attack had lied at the instance of her father, who wanted revenge against a rape complaint, police said on Monday. Akil Khan, the student's father, was nabbed on Monday for allegedly fabricating the acid attack with a toilet cleaner, and raping the wife of the man his daughter accused of throwing "acid" at her.

On Sunday morning, a 20-year-old second-year BCom student enrolled in DU's Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board alleged that she had been attacked with acid by three men. She named the three as Jitender and his two accomplices, Ishan and Arman, both brothers, and, as it later turned out, her relatives.

She claimed that she was attacked when she was on her way to attend an extra class, the police said. However, several counterclaims soon emerged, one of which accused the father of the "victim" of rape.

Rape allegation against DU student's father

Police had earlier found discrepancies in the student's statement and Jitender's location away from the crime spot. In a statement, police said that Jitender's wife had earlier accused the alleged victim's father, Akil Khan, of rape. The matter was reported at the Bhalswa Dairy Police Station, but no written complaint was filed.

The woman alleged that between 2021 and 2024, she worked in Akil Khan's socks factory, where Khan sexually assaulted her and blackmailed her with her private photos and videos.

Also read ABVP sets up internal probe over assault on Ambedkar College professor; Deepika Jha asked to step aside

Acid attack was staged

According to the police, the woman made PCR calls on October 24 and 25, but did not submit a written complaint. On the basis of the allegation, police questioned Khan and arrested him when he revealed that he had fabricated the story of an acid attack , and the liquid in question was ordinary toilet cleaner.

"She (the student) allegedly put toilet cleaner on her hand after de-boarding the e-rickshaw… and screamed for attention," an officer said. The woman had brought the liquid from her home in her bag, the officer said. Earlier, investigators were perplexed as to why the student de-boarded the e-rickshaw about 300 metres away from her destination.

"Till Ashok Vihar, she was in a scooter with her brother. After that, she took an e-rickshaw to the college but de-boarded 300 metres away from the main gate of the college," the police said.

Her brother could not be contacted to join the investigation. Jitender's location at the time of the incident was in Karol Bagh, around 5 km away from the crime scene. Even the motorcycle said to have been used in the crime appears to be in Karol Bagh, the officer said.

Also read DU teachers seek DUTA general body meeting over assault on Bhim Rao Ambedkar College faculty

Past disputes

Detained for questioning, Jitender, who works as a painter, maintained that he was not present in the area when the incident occurred. No traces of acid were found at the spot, nor was there any sighting of the attackers in CCTV footage from the crime spot.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team failed to find any discarded acid bottles in the area. Ishan and Arman, both distant relatives of the victim, the police said, are in Agra with their mother, Shabnam, a resident of Mangolpuri. They will be joining the investigation soon.

According to the police, in 2018, Shabnam too accused Akil Khan of rape. That matter is still sub judice. It emerged that a long-standing dispute over a property in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri exists between the two families, the police said. The same year, Shabnam alleged an acid attack by Khan and got an FIR filed at the Mangolpuri Police Station.