In a startling twist, Delhi Police have revealed that the alleged acid attack reported by a 20-year-old college student on Sunday was fabricated. Investigators claim the woman staged the incident under the direction of her father, who sought revenge against a family involved in a separate rape and blackmail case against him.
The student, a second-year BCom candidate enrolled in Delhi University’s Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board, initially alleged that she was attacked with acid by three men near Laxmi Bai College in North-West Delhi on Sunday morning.
She identified the alleged assailants as Jitender and his relatives, Ishan and Arman. According to her initial complaint, Jitender, who she said had been stalking her, was riding a motorcycle with the two men as pillion passengers. She claimed that one of them hurled an acid-like liquid at her while she was on her way to attend an extra class, causing burns to her hands as she tried to shield her face. The incident sparked public outrage, and the woman was admitted to RML Hospital for treatment of her burn injuries.
However, within 24 hours, police officers began to notice inconsistencies in her account. CCTV footage and mobile phone location data indicated that Jitender was in Karol Bagh at the time of the alleged assault, far from the scene of the incident.
Investigators also verified that Ishan and Arman were in Agra with their mother on the day of the supposed attack. The motorcycle mentioned in the complaint was later found parked in Karol Bagh. No traces of acid were recovered from the scene.
Footage further revealed that the student had left home with her brother on a scooter but was dropped off in the Ashok Vihar area, about 200 metres from her college. None of the three men she named were seen in any of the surveillance recordings.
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Singh Yadav confirmed that CCTV footage, call detail records, and witness statements all contradicted the woman’s claims. Medical experts are still reviewing the nature of her hand injuries, which are believed to have been caused by a household toilet cleaner rather than acid.
By Monday, the investigation had taken a dramatic turn. The student’s father, identified as Aqeel Khan, was arrested after confessing that he had orchestrated the false acid attack story. According to police, Khan admitted that the act was staged using a toilet cleaner to simulate acid burns.
Senior officers said that Khan persuaded his daughter to fake the attack to frame Jitender and his relatives, with whom he was involved in ongoing personal and legal disputes. “He admitted that the entire case was fabricated to settle scores,” said a senior Delhi Police official.
Two days prior to the alleged acid assault, Jitender’s wife had lodged a police complaint accusing Khan of rape and blackmail. She told investigators that she had worked at Khan’s factory between 2021 and 2024, during which he allegedly sexually assaulted her and threatened to release objectionable photographs and videos.
When called for questioning in that case, Khan failed to appear before the police, instead sending his lawyer and a religious preacher. A search was subsequently launched, and he was arrested from Sangam Vihar on Monday night.
In a separate development, Shabnam, the mother of Ishan and Arman, also came forward, alleging that she had been the victim of an acid attack in 2018 at the hands of Khan’s relatives. She is currently engaged in a property dispute with Khan in Mangolpuri, which remains sub judice.
Delhi Police have stated that legal proceedings under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) will be initiated against both the student and her father for fabricating evidence and misleading investigators.
