Meerut, Oct. 16 -- In a dramatic revelation from Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district, police have uncovered a shocking conspiracy in which a man orchestrated a gun attack on his own wife with the help of his friends-only to frame his rival in a rape case. The accused husband attempted to pass off the incident as retaliation by the rival for refusing to settle the rape case. The case originated from Veerpur Bariyar village under the Mundhapande police station area. On Monday morning, police received information that a couple had been fired upon near the Mundia Malukpur forest while heading towards Rampur. In the attack, the woman, Nasreen, sustained pellet injuries below her waist and was rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Mundhapande, before being referred to the district hospital for advanced treatment. Nasreen was traveling with her husband Afzal on a motorcycle to purchase medicines when the attack occurred. At first, Afzal alleged that the shooters were his wife's former husband Habib, Yaseen, and another unidentified person-claiming that they attacked Nasreen because she had refused to withdraw a rape case filed against them. According to police, Nasreen was earlier married to Habib, a resident of the same village. After divorcing him, she married Afzal about a year and a half ago. Nearly a year earlier, she had lodged a rape case against Habib, Yaseen, and an unknown individual, accusing them of sexual assault. She also stated that the accused were pressuring her to settle the matter outside court. Following the shooting, police promptly registered an FIR and began investigating the case based on Afzal's statement. However, the narrative soon began to unravel. During the investigation led by station house officer (SHO) Mohit Chaudhary, inconsistencies emerged in Afzal's account. When police conducted a deeper inquiry and gathered evidence discreetly, it was revealed that the entire attack had been orchestrated by Afzal himself. Investigations showed that Afzal wanted to have his rivals Habib and Yaseen-who had earlier been jailed in the rape case-sent back to prison. To achieve this, he conspired with his cousin and two friends to stage the firing. Police identified the conspirators as, Mohd Afzal, son of Nanhe (the husband and mastermind); Nafees, son of Rahees (Afzal's cousin); Lalla, son of Buddhu (Nafees's friend); Israr, son of Buddhu - all residents of Bariyar village. After gathering sufficient evidence, police arrested Afzal and Israr, while Nafees and Lalla have also been named in the investigation. SP City Kumar Ran Vijay Singh said that the arrested accused confessed to staging the firing to falsely implicate Habib and Yaseen....