Ghaziabad: Woman fakes acid attack to implicate husband, marry male friend; held

Senior police officers said the two were in a relationship and because neither of them was divorced, they came up with the acid attack plan to get their respective spouses and in-laws arrested

Police on Wednesday arrested a 35-year-old woman and her 25-year-old male friend along with an accomplice for allegedly faking an acid attack incident on August 21 in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar Extension, with an aim to implicate their spouses and in-laws in the case.

The police identified the women as Priyanka Kaushik, a resident of a high-rise in Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, and her male friend as Pulkit Tyagi, a resident of Wazirabad in Delhi. Their accomplice was identified as Ankit Singh, a resident of Sanjay Nagar in Ghaziabad, who is Kaushik’s former driver. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Senior police officers said the two were in a relationship and because neither of them was divorced, they came up with the acid attack plan to get their respective spouses and in-laws arrested.

The police identified the women as Priyanka Kaushik, a resident of a high-rise in Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad, and her male friend as Pulkit Tyagi, a resident of Wazirabad in Delhi.

Their accomplice was identified as Ankit Singh, a resident of Sanjay Nagar in Ghaziabad, who is Kaushik’s former driver.

Kaushik on August 21 gave a police complaint at Nandgram police station claiming to be a victim of an acid attack. She got an FIR registered against eight persons, including her in-laws and husband and also against Tyagi’s wife and her relatives.

The police traced the bike taxi driver and recorded his statements.

Police found out that Kaushik got married to Aript Sharma in 2018 but their relations soured within the year.

They added that the woman met Tyagi in February 2024 and soon got into a relationship with him.

“Suspect Kaushik was not divorced and the couple’s counselling was going on at the women’ police station in Ghaziabad. Likewise, Tyagi’s relations with his wife were not cordial and he too wanted a divorce. So they both along with Ankit planned the fake acid attack to implicate their spouses and relatives. As per the plan, Singh purchased a bottle of acid from a shop in Maliwara. Later, he arrived on a bike and poured the acid on Kaushik in a way that it caused minimal injuries, as planned,” the DCP said.

The DCP said CCTV footage showed the Kaushik covering her face and body with her dupatta just prior to the attack as if she anticipated the attack.

The police said the location of woman’s husband was found to be elsewhere at the time of the incident, and so was that of others named in the FIR.