Why did Vipin Bhati kill Nikki, burnt her alive? Here’s what probe revealed in Greater Noida dowry murder case
Vipin Bhati has been accused of killing his wife, Nikki, in Greater Noida. The sensational murder case came to light after a viral video showed the accused husband and another woman assaulting Nikki and dragging her by the hair.
Another purported video clip showed Nikki, severely burnt, walking down a staircase before collapsing. She had succumbed to burns while being taken to a hospital on Thursday night.
The incident reportedly happened on Thursday night.
Vipin Bhati was arrested on Saturday. He was shot in the leg as he attempted to flee custody on Sunday. In a video following the police encounter, Vipin showed “no remorse” and said, “fights happen between husband and wife.”
He has been sent to 14-day judicial custody, according to the police.
Why did Vipin kill Nikki?
Initial reports claimed that Vipin used to abuse Nikki, demanding a dowry of ₹36 lakh.
“Their demands were increasing day by day… and they had started asking for ₹36 lakh in dowry from us,” said the father of 26-year-old Nikki, who was allegedly tortured and set ablaze by her in-laws in Greater Noida.
Meanwhile, police officials were quoted by Hindustan Times as saying that on 21 August, Nikki told her husband she planned to reopen her beauty parlour, which triggered a fight between her and Vipin.
“Investigation revealed that around 3.30 pm, Nikki told Vipin that she and her sister would reopen the parlour. When he refused, Nikki said that no one could stop them from reopening, which Bhati opposed,” Kasna station house officer Dharmendra Shukla said.
“Vipin told her that in their family, posting reels on Instagram and running a parlour were not allowed. The issue turned ugly, and he started assaulting her,” Shukla said.
The sisters were active on their Instagram and YouTube, running beauty channels for the parlour under the handle “Makeover by Kannchan.”
‘Brothers didn’t work’
Nikki’s family recalled a nine-year-long “torture” she and her sister Kanchan (29) went through – frequent fights, assault, demands for more money and expensive cars. In 2016, both sisters were married in the same family, Nikki to Vipin Bhati and Kanchan to Rohit Bhati.
“Both brothers don’t work. Since the marriage, they kept asking for money; sometimes they said, ‘Give us your Mercedes’, or asked for our Scorpio. I helped my daughter open her own beauty parlour as Vipin had no work. He then started stealing money from the parlour,” Nikki’s father, Bhikahri Singh, told.
