Delhi girl faked acid attack with toilet cleaner; father behind plan held, booked for rape
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi college student who alleged an acid attack had lied at the instance of her father, who wanted revenge against a rape complaint, police said on Monday.
Akil Khan, the student's father, was nabbed on Monday for allegedly fabricating the acid attack with a toilet cleaner, and raping the wife of the man his daughter accused of throwing "acid" at her.
On Sunday morning, a 20-year-old second-year BCom student enrolled in DU's Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board alleged that she had been attacked with acid by three men.
She named the three as Jitender and his two accomplices, Ishan and Arman, both brothers, and, as it later turned out, her relatives.
She claimed that she was attacked when she was on her way to attend an extra class, the police said.
However, several counterclaims soon emerged, one of which accused the father of the "victim" of rape.
Police had earlier found discrepancies in the student's statement and Jitender's location away from the crime spot.
In a statement, police said that Jitender's wife had earlier accused the alleged victim's father, Akil Khan, of rape. The matter was reported at the Bhalswa Dairy Police Station, but no written complaint was filed.
The woman alleged that between 2021 and 2024, she worked in Akil Khan's socks factory, where Khan sexually assaulted her and blackmailed her with her private photos and videos.
According to the police, the woman made PCR calls on October 24 and 25, but did not submit a written complaint.
On the basis of the allegation, police questioned Khan and arrested him when he revealed that he had fabricated the story of an acid attack, and the liquid in question was ordinary toilet cleaner.
"She (the student) allegedly put toilet cleaner on her hand after de-boarding the e-rickshaw… and screamed for attention," an officer said.
The woman had brought the liquid from her home in her bag, the officer said.
Earlier, investigators were perplexed as to why the student de-boarded the e-rickshaw about 300 metres away from her destination.
"Till Ashok Vihar, she was in a scooter with her brother. After that, she took an e-rickshaw to the college but de-boarded 300 metres away from the main gate of the college," the police said.
Her brother could not be contacted to join the investigation.
Jitender's location at the time of the incident was in Karol Bagh, around 5 km away from the crime scene.
Even the motorcycle said to have been used in the crime appears to be in Karol Bagh, the officer said.
Detained for questioning, Jitender, who works as a painter, maintained that he was not present in the area when the incident occurred.
No traces of acid were found at the spot, nor was there any sighting of the attackers in CCTV footage from the crime spot.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team failed to find any discarded acid bottles in the area.
Ishan and Arman, both distant relatives of the victim, the police said, are in Agra with their mother, Shabnam, a resident of Mangolpuri. They will be joining the investigation soon.
According to the police, in 2018, Shabnam too accused Akil Khan of rape. That matter is still sub judice.
It emerged that a long-standing dispute over a property in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri exists between the two families, the police said.
The same year, Shabnam alleged an acid attack by Khan and got an FIR filed at the Mangolpuri Police Station.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
