The Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday arrested two persons in connection with the acid attack on the face of a 22-year-old woman on January 31 evening at the Goregaon railway station The railway police had earlier arrested a mother-son duo in the case — Nasir Anwar alias Pintu Shaikh (24) and his mother Manju Anwar Shaikh (45) — and investigation revealed that the duo had given contract to the arrested accused to throw acid on the woman's face, police said.
Feroz Ayub Memon alias Papa (23) has confessed to having attacked the victim twice before the acid attack, Crime Branch officials told The Hindu.
The police have also arrested Feroz Mohammad Zubair Shaikh alias Munnu (20) for aiding the main culprit in fetching the acid used in the attack.
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The victim's family used to live as tenants in Manju's house.
Marriage proposal declined
The mother-son duo ordered attacks on the victim as they were upset that she declined Nasir's proposal for marriage. Police said that the victim's family vacated the house three months ago due to that. Manju had also lent some money to the victim's family, which it could not return.
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“So both of them contacted Papa and promised him money if he disfigured her face. In the previous attacks in December 2011 and January this year, Pappu slashed her face with a blade and then a knife. But the mother and son were unhappy that her face was still not disfigured, and they ordered the third acid attack,” police said.
All the four accused have been booked under sections 307 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have only arrested the accused. The case is being investigated by the Borivali Railway Police. We will hand over these two accused to them,” a crime branch official said.
Furore over police inaction
There was furore in the city over previous police inaction in registering the victim's complaints in the earlier two cases when she was attacked.