Noida woman, husband (L). Representative image of fire.
Credit: X@The Hawk Eye/iStock photo
In a chilling incident that came to light from Greater Noida, a woman (28) was assaulted, dragged by her hair and set ablaze by her in-laws. Identified as Nikki Bhati, the woman was harassed and killed in front of six-year-old son. Nikki faced horror over an alleged dowry demand by her mother-in-law, who is now under arrest, and other family members. The police is investigating the matter.
Check out key details from this recent dowry death case below
Tortured, set on fire
The UP police reported a disturbing case of a woman tortured and set alive on fire by her in-laws following dowry demands worth about Rs 36 lakh. The incident took place on Thursday night.
A relative told news agency PTI that the in-laws demanded a Scorpio car at the wedding, then a bullet and motorcycle, even a Mercedes.
Nikki Bhati was married to Vipin in 2016. She underwent nine years of harassment, which ended on a severe note earlier this month.
The victim was burned and left to die as her minor son watched the horror and pleaded for help. She succumbed to her injuries despite being rushed to a nearby hospital.
Four arrested so far
The police has arrested all four accused in the case. The victim's husband Vipin Bhati, father-in-law Satyaveer, mother-in-law Daya, and brother-in-law Rohit are facing charges under Section 103 (Punishment for murder), Section 115 (Voluntarily causing hurt), Section 61(Criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Earlier, Vipin tried to flee from police custody, but he was shot in the leg and arrested, hours after the victim's father had demanded an encounter.
Nikki's sister records crime on camera
Kanchan, the elder sister of the victim, who is married in the same family had captured the video of the horrifying incident, reported PTI.
Two gruesome videos are now doing viral and receiving condemnation on the internet.
In one clip, Nikki was seen being mercilessly dragged by her hair, while the second video noted her suffering. It showed Nikki limping down the stairs after being set on fire.
"They hit her in her neck and head and threw acid on her. I couldn't do anything. They tortured me as well," Kanchan recalled.
Based on Kanchan's complaint, a case was registered against at Kasna Police Station.
Victim's 6-year-old son narrates horror
Recounting the horror suffered by his mother, the young son revealed that he was an eyewitness to everything.
"Meri mumma ke upar kuch dala, fir unko chanta mara fir lighter se aag laga di. (They poured something on my mother, slapped her and set her ablaze using a lighter)," read a PTI report.
Husband tries to portray murder as 'suicide'; his 'affair' comes to light
Vipin, who is now under police custody, tried to cover up by portraying the heinous murder as suicide. He allegedly engaged in drafting emotional posts on social media.
An Instagram ID, having profile picture of the accused husband, read a post: "Mujhe toh bata deti, ak baar, kya hua tha, mujhe chhod kyun chali gayi tuu (you should have told me once, what had happened. Why did you leave me?)"
It is also being said that Vipin had an illicit affair. A Times of India report quoted Nikki's father and stated that his daughter was killed due to Vipin's relationship with another woman.
Reels, beauty parlour...
Initial investigation mentioned that Nikki had an altercation with her husband and in-laws over her social media activity. The family was also against her will to set up and run a beauty parlour.
Reactions on the incident
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict directives for maximum punishment, respecting the victim's father's demand for the death penalty, ANI reported.
Vice Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Women's Commission, Aparna Yadav, condemned the act and demanded severe action against this heinous crime where a woman was brutally attacked.