I was falsely implicated: Man cleared in Delhi acid attack case

New Delhi: A man who was initially named as the main accused in the alleged acid attack on a 20-year-old Delhi University student has claimed innocence, saying he was falsely implicated in what has now been revealed as a staged incident by the victim’s family to frame him.

“I was falsely implicated in this case. The entire incident was part of a conspiracy to entrap me,” Jitender told PTI. He was an accused in the alleged acid attack case reported in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar area on Sunday.

He claimed that he was not even present at the spot when the incident happened.

“I was working in Karol Bagh that day, and around 7.30 pm, I received a call from the police informing me about the matter,” he told PTI.

On Tuesday, Delhi Police said their investigation had revealed that the student’s father, Akil Khan, along with her uncle and brother, had conspired to stage the attack in order to falsely implicate Jitender and his family, who had previously filed rape and acid attack complaints against Khan.

According to police, Khan poured a chemical on his daughter’s hand and bag near Ashok Vihar and fled on a motorcycle to mislead investigators. He was arrested on Monday in a rape case filed by Jitender’s wife.

Jitender said his wife had previously accused Khan of sexual harassment and blackmail. “My wife had complained earlier that she was being blackmailed by him. He was calling her repeatedly and sending her some videos and other footage. I never saw those videos myself,” he said.

He also recalled a confrontation between the two families in 2021. “On September 29, 2021, there was a scuffle involving my wife and his wife and daughter. I intervened only to help my wife. During that time, even his brother came and started fighting with me. We filed a report, but later the police made us reach a compromise as we did not want any conflict,” Jitender said.

Despite the truce, he alleged that the harassment did not stop. “My wife later told me that they had even threatened to kill me,” he claimed.

Delhi Police have since clarified that Jitender was not involved in the alleged attack. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said CCTV footage and location details confirmed that Jitender was at work in Karol Bagh at the time of the incident.

“The Delhi Police have done a thorough investigation. They verified everything and recorded the statements of witnesses from my workplace. After that, they gave me a clean chit. I have complete faith in the Delhi Police and believe that justice will prevail,” Jitender said.

Further investigation into the conspiracy and the alleged misuse of acid attack allegations is underway, police added.