Rape case against victim's father, key suspect's away location complicate Delhi acid attack case

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) A day after the alleged acid attack on a Delhi University student near Laxmi Bai College, on Monday, police were faced with several discrepancies, such as the kilometres away location of the alleged attacker and a rape case filed against the victim's father.

The absence of the three alleged attackers in CCTV footage from the incident spot added to the complication.

On Sunday morning, a 20-year-old second-year BCom student enrolled in DU's Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board was allegedly attacked with acid by Jitender and his accomplices, Ishan and Arman, both brothers, while she was on her way to attend an extra class, the police said.

In an official statement, they said that Jitender's wife had earlier accused the victim's father, Akil Khan, of rape at the Bhalswa Dairy Police Station. Khan is absconding.

The woman alleged that while working in Akil Khan's socks manufacturing unit between 2021 and 2024, she was sexually assaulted by Khan, who blackmailed her with her private photos and videos.

According to the police, the woman had made PCR calls on October 24 and 25 and reported the matter, but did not submit a written complaint.

Meanwhile, investigators are also looking into why the student deboarded her e-rickshaw about 300 metres away from the main gate of her college.

"Till Ashok Vihar, she was in a scooter with her brother. After that, she took an e-rickshaw to the college but deboarded 300 metres away from the main gate of the college," the police said, adding that her brother has become unavailable and is not joining the investigation.

Investigators said Jitender's location at the time of the incident was found to be in Karol Bagh, around 5 km away from the crime scene.

"His call detail records and CCTV footage show that both Jitender and his wife were in Karol Bagh during the time of the alleged attack," an officer said.

Even the motorcycle said to have been used in the crime appears to be in Karol Bagh, he said.

Detained for questioning, Jitender, who works as a painter, maintains that he was not present in the area when the incident occurred.

No traces of acid were found at the spot, and there is no CCTV footage of three men riding a motorcycle near the scene of the crime, the officer said.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also did not recover any acid bottles from 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.

In 2018, Shabnam too accused Akil Khan of rape. That matter is still sub judice.

It emerged that a long-standing dispute over a Mangolpuri property 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.

The officer said the police seized a bag from the victim, on which drops of acid had allegedly fallen, and found a kurti in it.

"Given the contradictions in statements and emerging background details, the case is being probed under close supervision of senior officers to verify the authenticity of the FIR and the claims of all parties involved," the officer added. PTI SSJ VN VN