A day after a 20-year-old Delhi University (DU) student alleged that she suffered burn injuries due to an acid attack, the Delhi police on Monday arrested her father on the charge of staging the incident.

The man admitted during interrogation that his daughter “faked the incident” by splashing toilet cleaner on her hands, police said. She had accused three men – Jitender, Ishan, and Arman – of attacking her near Laxmibai College in north-west Delhi.

Earlier in the day, the police probe revealed that Mr. Jitender’s wife had filed a complaint three days ago at the Bhalswa Dairy police station alleging sexual assault by the student’s father. In her complaint, the woman said she worked at a socks manufacturing factory owned by the student’s father between 2021 and 2024 and that he allegedly assaulted her and blackmailed her using private photos and videos.

“The complainant [Jitender’s wife] made serious allegations of sexual assault and blackmail against the student’s father, which are being probed,” a senior police officer said.

The police also found that Mr. Jitender was not present near the scene of the alleged attack when the incident occurred. “According to technical surveillance, Jitender was doing a gig at a house in Karol Bagh,” the officer said, adding that teams have been formed to probe the cases.