A 16-year-old boy is being held in custody after the attempted murder of a man in an alleged ‘honour’ acid attack.
The man, 24, was suspected of having an affair with a married Muslim woman. She has since been warned her life could also be in danger
Her alleged lover is fighting for his life after a masked gang stabbed him twice and forced him to swallow sulphuric acid.
The assailants also poured acid over his body and are feared to have beaten his face with bricks, leaving him blind in one eye.
Two men, aged 19 and 25, have been charged with attempted murder and Scotland Yard have now revealed a 16-year-old has been re-arrested over the attack.
‘Police have rearrested a 16 year old male in connection with the attempted murder of a 24 year old man in Leytonstone on July 2. He is currently in custody at an east London police station,’ a spokesman said.
The attack was allegedly carried out because the woman’s family believed she was having an affair with the 24-year-old man. She has denied having a relationship with him.
Police have reportedly warned the woman, whose family is from Pakistan, that her life may be at risk.
Detectives from Scotland Yard were said to have given her an ‘Osman warning’ - a formal alert she is under threat - but she has denied that she could be at risk.
Police, who have charged two men with attempted murder, are assessing how to protect her. Sources said one of the men is the woman’s brother.
Witnesses said the gang wore masks and gloves as they carried out the assault.
The victim’s tongue was destroyed by the acid he was forced to swallow and his throat was severely damaged. He suffered skull fractures and the acid caused 50 per cent burns to his body.
He managed to scream for help after the attack in Leytonstone, East London, and was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, where his condition is said to be critical but stable.
It is not known if the man, originally from Denmark, will survive. Witnesses who saw him seconds afterwards said he wailed ‘like a wounded animal’.
The attack happened on a residential street at around 2am on July 2. Details have only just emerged because of the sensitivity of the case and fears for the woman’s safety.
The man was set upon 200 yards from his bedsit on a neighbouring road. Police are investigating whether he had been lured out on a pretence of meeting the woman.
One witness, Kay Dice, 52, said: ‘He was screaming and screaming. He was pleading for help.
‘I thought he had a huge cross on his back, but in fact it was where his skin had peeled away.’
An ambulance worker said: ‘I am surprised he is still alive.’
Police are understood to be working on the theory that the victim was attacked to end the alleged affair and to prevent the woman’s family from being shamed.
Community leader Imtiaz Qadir, of the Active Change Foundation, said: ‘Honour crime happens a lot in our community, especially the Pakistani community, but we do try to educate the people.’
Police have arrested seven young men since the attack.
A 19-year-old and a second man, aged 25, both from Walthamstow, have been charged with attempted murder.
The men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before magistrates in Waltham Forest yesterday and were remanded in custody until September 30.
Two other men have been released on police bail.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Officers are keeping an open mind as to the motive for the assault.’