Acid attack on DU student was staged by father to frame 3 men: Delhi Police

Officers who examined the scene said they found no trace of acid, and the burns on the woman’s hands remain under medical review.

The father of a 20-year-old Delhi University student who claimed on Sunday she was attacked with acid outside Lakshmibai College has admitted that he staged the incident to frame three men with whom he had personal disputes, investigators aware of the matter said on Monday. The man, police said, also confessed to raping the wife of one of the men initially accused in the alleged attack.

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Senior officers said the rape accused was apprehended from Sangam Vihar, where he had been hiding after a rape case was filed against him. During questioning, the man 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.

The case took a dramatic turn just a day after the student alleged that three men on a motorcycle had hurled acid at her while she was on her way to college. She was admitted to RML Hospital with burn injuries on her hands.

By Monday, however, police said their probe found “contradictions” in her story. “During investigation, several facts have emerged that contradict the version stated in the complaint. We have CCTV 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.

The man she accused of stalking her, a painter by profession, appeared at the police station voluntarily on Monday. “This was confirmed by CDR analysis of his mobile phones, CCTV footage and witness statements. Also, the bike which was mentioned in the complaint was also spotted in Karol Bagh during the incident,” DCP Singh said.

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.

Meanwhile, 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.

CCTV footage further complicated the woman’s story. The 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 are 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.

“Given the contradictions in the complaint, we are verifying every aspect of the FIR, the complainant’s statements, and the defence of the accused,” Yadav said. “The investigation is being monitored closely at the senior level.”