Russian police say they have  arrested three men in the acid attack that nearly blinded Sergei Filin – the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet.

The arrests include  a star dancer suspected of masterminding the plot.

An Interior Ministry spokesman says Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko is suspected of planning the attack.

 Channel One state television reported that Dmitrichenko’s girlfriend,  also a Bolshoi soloist, was known to have been at odds with Filin.

Filin’s colleagues have said the attack could be in retaliation for his selection of certain dancers over others for prized roles. Filin told state television before he checked out of a Moscow hospital that he knew who ordered the attack but would not name the person.

The Interior Ministry also said the alleged perpetrator, 35-year-old Yury Zarutsky has been arrested and police have detained and questioned a suspected accomplice  identified as Andrei Lipatov.  

Sergei Filin was left with severe burns to his eyes and face when a masked attacker threw a jar of sulfuric acid in his face as he returned home late on January  17.  The 42-year-old former dancer is now undergoing treatment in Germany.