In a shocking turn of events, Delhi Police have said that a 20-year-old college student who claimed she was attacked with acid had made a false complaint on her father’s instructions, according to a report by HT.
According to police, the father planned the fake attack to take revenge in connection with a rape case. He has now been arrested for staging the acid attack using toilet cleaner and also for allegedly raping the wife of the man his daughter accused.
What did the woman allege?
On Sunday morning, the student, who studies BCom at Delhi University’s Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board, claimed that three men threw acid on her while she was heading to class.
She named the attackers as Jitender and his brothers, Ishan and Arman – all her relatives. She was taken to RML Hospital with burn injuries on her hands. At first, police believed the case was genuine and even said one of the accused had been “stalking her for months.” But later, inconsistencies in her story and phone records led them to question the version.
What the police found
Investigations revealed that the woman’s father and she had staged the attack to frame Jitender and his relatives, with whom the father had long-standing disputes. CCTV footage and call detail records did not support the woman’s claims. Police now believe she used a toilet cleaner from her home to injure herself and make the story look real, the HT report said.
Two days before this alleged attack, Jitender’s wife had filed a complaint accusing the student’s father of raping and blackmailing her while she worked at his factory between 2021 and 2024. She said he had threatened to leak private photos and videos. When called for questioning, the man did not appear and instead sent his lawyer and a religious preacher. Police later arrested him in Sangam Vihar.
The two brothers the student accused were found to be in Agra with their mother during the supposed attack. Police also discovered that the woman herself was once a victim of an acid attack in 2018 and was currently involved in a property dispute with Jitender’s family, the report mentioned.
CCTV footage showed the student leaving home with her brother, who dropped her at Ashok Vihar before she took an e-rickshaw. None of the accused appeared in the video. Police are now questioning why her brother did not drop her at college and why he has since gone missing. Officers also said there was no trace of acid at the scene, and doctors are still reviewing the nature of her hand injuries, it added.