Kareli double murder follow-up: Source of acid bottles used to attack cops under scanner

It is suspected that Arif stored a large quantity of acid to burn the bodies of his kin after killing them.

Mohd Arif Siddiqui, 31, the man who killed his mother and sister, in Kareli, on Wednesday, also assaulted the police with bottles of acid.

Acid bottles recovered from the room of accused Mohd Arif being seized by the police on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Later, when the police entered his room, they recovered around 200 acid bottles stored there.

The police is now investigating the source of such a large number of acid bottles found in Arif’s room. It is suspected that Arif stored a large quantity of acid to burn the bodies of his kin after killing them.

Ramashray Yadav, SHO, Kareli police station, said that during questioning, Arif had said that he collected acid to kill his brother and his family.

The acid stored by Arif is commonly used for cleaning toilets etc. Primary investigations have revealed that Arif purchased the acid bottles from different shops in Kareli and other areas.

However, he purchased acid from a shop in Kareli in bulk some time back. He is being questioned further to identify the shops from where he purchased the acid bottles, he added.

Arif’s brother, Azam and other kin, denied having any knowledge of how his brother brought such a large quantity of acid into their house.

ACP Shwetabh Pandey said that the source of the acid is under the scanner. Police will identify the shops from where the acid bottles were purchased and will check if they are authorised to sell them.

Over-the-counter sale of acid was banned by the Supreme Court in 2013 in the wake of rising cases of acid attack. It instructed state governments to issue licences for selling acid. The retailers were asked to keep a record of people purchasing acid and check their government issued ID cards and provide records to SDM.

However, acid bottles are still easily available in the market where they are sold for cleaning toilets. Although the acid sold for cleaning in the market is of lower quality, it is still capable of burning skin, a police official said.