New Delhi, Oct 28: Delhi Police has given a virtual clean chit to a painter and two others accused by a woman of throwing acid on her in North Delhi’s Ashok Vihar last week, Special Commissioner of Police Ravindra Singh Yadav said on Tuesday.

Yadav expressed satisfaction over preventing injustice being meted out to the three “innocents” as the alleged attack has turned out to be an incident staged by the complainant woman and her family to settle scores with the “suspects”.

Yadav told IANS that technical analysis, CCTV footage and physical evidence proved that the three accused were not at the spot where the alleged “acid attack” took place on October 26 near Laxmi Bai College.

“It has turned out to be a case of old enmity related to a plot owned by the father of the woman who levelled false allegations of ‘acid attack’ on the accused,” he said.

The Special Commissioner of Police said the investigation is still underway but prima facie the conspiracy was hatched by the 20-year-old woman, her father, brother and uncle to try and implicate the three men in a false case of “acid attack”.

The two families have a history of litigation and criminal complaints against each other.

Investigators also revealed that the “acid attack” victim’s father Akil Khan, 45, now under custody, was accused of sexual harassment by the painter Jitender’s wife a few days before the October 26 staged episode of ‘acid attack’.

Yadav said the police are seeking legal opinion on the next step as the matter involves two separate issues.

“One, is the ‘acid attack’ and, the other, is the allegation of rape against the father of the ‘acid attack’ victim,” he said.

Yadav said, “For the time being, it is a matter of satisfaction for the police to have foiled the conspiracy by the woman’s family to implicate three innocent people.”

He said the police will now consider acting against the woman’s family for filing a false case.

Yadav said an investigation is still on to verify the woman’s statement that she and her family members had carried toilet cleaner from home to stage the ‘acid attack’ and subsequently report at a hospital with ‘acid attack burns’ on her hands.

The Special Commissioner of Police said they will soon share details of the alleged roles played by the family members of the woman in staging the ‘acid attack’ and attempting to implicate painter Jitender and his two aides, Ishan and Arman.

Yadav said in matters related to crimes against women the police promptly register a case on receiving a complaint and this is what happened in this matter. A case under Sections 124(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered as FIR No. 605/2025 on the woman’s complaint which named the three ‘suspects’.

However, investigations revealed that the allegation against the three “acid attackers” were false and they were physically not present on the spot where the incident was staged, the police said.

Thane: A tragic incident has shaken the city of Thane after a 17-year-old girl, who was set on fire by her friend four days ago, succumbed to her burn injuries on Sunday morning. The victim, who had sustained nearly 80 per cent burns, was undergoing treatment at KEM Hospital in Mumbai but could not survive despite doctors’ efforts.

According to the police, the accused, also 17, worked as a delivery boy, while the victim was employed as a compounder at a local dispensary. The two had known each other for several years and had lived in Chembur before both families moved to Balkum about a year ago. Police said the two were believed to have been close and were in frequent contact.

The incident took place when the girl was alone at home on Friday. The boy allegedly entered the house and, after an argument over a personal issue, poured an inflammable liquid on her and set her ablaze. Hearing her cries, neighbours rushed to help, and the accused himself took her to Thane Civil Hospital. She was later shifted to KEM Hospital in Mumbai for advanced care, where under treatment she lost her life on Tueday morning.

Senior Police Inspector Pravin Mane of Kapurbawdi police station confirmed that the accused was detained under charges of attempt to murder, which will now be converted to murder following the girl’s death. He was produced before the Juvenile Court in Thane and sent to a remand home.

Police sources revealed that the girl had earlier told relatives the boy had threatened her during a visit to Chembur for the Bhaubij festival. Authorities are now verifying this claim. Forensic experts are examining the flammable substance used in the attack, and officers are continuing their probe to determine the exact motive behind the crime.

Mumbai: Three days after Mumbai Police uncovered a massive mephedrone manufacturing unit in Nalasopara’s Pelhar area, the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police Commissioner on Monday suspended the senior inspector of Pelhar police station for failing to detect the illegal operation running almost under his nose.

Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik issued the suspension order against Senior Inspector Jitendra Vankoti, citing ‘inexcusable negligence’ in monitoring his jurisdiction. The order noted that the illegal factory was located barely 200–300 metres from the Pelhar police station. Despite its proximity, Vankoti claimed he was unaware of the activity, a response the department found unacceptable.

“The site of the above incident was 200 to 300 meters away from Pelhar police station, but during the interrogation, Senior Police Inspector Jitendra Vankoti has stated that he was unaware of the incident,” the order stated. It further mentioned that despite his subordinates being engaged in related intelligence and patrol duties, the inspector failed to ensure effective monitoring, obtain confidential information, or initiate timely action against illegal businesses.

The disciplinary action follows a major operation conducted by Mumbai Police’s Zone-6 Narcotics Cell in coordination with Tilak Nagar police, which raided the factory in the Rashid Compound area of Pelhar, Nalasopara (East) on October 25. During the raid, officers seized over 7 kilograms of mephedrone (MD) and precursor chemicals valued at around Rs 13.5 crore, along with raw materials worth another Rs 1 crore.

Five individuals, including the key manufacturer of the synthetic drug, were arrested. Among them is Sohail Abdul Saif Ali Khan, a former hawker from Mumbra who allegedly transitioned into large-scale drug production. Police said Khan operated multiple luxury vehicles, including a BMW, and had been running the illegal unit for nearly 10 months, producing around 50 kilograms of contraband every month.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-6, Chembur) Sameer Sheikh supervised the operation, which exposed an intricate network of distribution linked to Mumbai’s narcotics supply chain.