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Man 'rapes' woman, then he & daughter frame her husband: The Delhi acid attack that wasn't
Police said two days before the supposed acid assault, on Friday, the wife of the man accused of acid attack had lodged a rape complaint.
The false acid attack accusation on a man and his associates in Delhi by a 20-year-old woman near Laxmi Bai College was an attempt by her to trap him after his wife filed a rape and blackmail complaint against her father.
The case in which a man was initially arrested over allegations of throwing acid on the woman near Laxmi Bai College on Sunday later turned around after CCTV footage contradicted the accounts of the woman.
Also Read | 5 shocking revelations in Delhi acid attack: 'It wasn't' | What police said about DU student case
The father of a 20-year-old Delhi University student has admitted that he staged the incident to frame three men with whom he had personal disputes, an earlier HT report quoted investigators aware of the matter as saying on Monday.
The man, police said, also confessed to raping the wife of one of the men initially accused in the alleged attack.
How father-daughter duo faked acid attack
Special CP Law & Order Delhi Police, Ravindra Singh Yadav on Tuesday that the people who were accused at all there at the spot which was alleged to be the crime scene by the woman.
This was done as part of a conspiracy, and the purpose was to save the girl's father from a case... We have arrested Aqeel Khan (father of the girl) on charges of sexual harassment and blackmail..." Yadav said.
Police found found “contradictions” in woman's story by Monday as several facts contradicted the version stated in the complaint by her.
Also Read | Delhi acid attack case: Key suspect's location raised suspicion, victim's father held
The investigator had 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 (Northwest) Bhisham Singh had earlier said.
Revenge plot for rape complaint
Police said two days before the supposed acid assault, on Friday, the wife of the man accused of acid attack 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.
Also Read | Acid attack on DU student was staged by father to frame 3 men: Delhi Police
Meanwhile, the two other men accused in the acid attack case were confirmed to have been in Agra with their mother at the time of the incident. Police said the wife of the person accused of acid attack, 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 complicated woman's story
CCTV footage built further suspicion over the woman’s story. 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. She was then 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 had said.
Special CP Law & Order Delhi Police Ravindra Singh Yadav said on Tuesday, “A dispute is going on with those relatives over the land, and in a dispute over a plot, they threw acid on a woman who has ownership rights over that plot… This was done as part of a conspiracy, and the purpose was to save the girl's father from that case...”
Aqeel Khan - father of the woman who made false acid attack allegations - has been arrested on charges of sexual harassment and blackmail.
