Noida dowry death case: Police have “rejected” the “cylinder blast” angle in Nikki Bhati’s case, saying that they have recovered an empty thinner bottle and a lighter from her husband Vipin Bhati’s house as key evidence. This comes after a purported police intimation form from the hospital mentions “cylinder blast” against the “medical history section”.
‘Cylinder blast at home claim unfounded’
“Ghar par gas cylinder fatne se mareej ko kaafi gambheer roop se jal gaya hai [The patient has suffered severe burn injuries due to a gas cylinder explosion at home],” the now-viral form dated August 21 states.
Kasna SHO Dharmendra Shukla said that Nikki may have deliberately concealed the truth, apparently because her sister is married in the same house and that she wanted to protect her in-laws.
“It is believed she did not want anyone to be sent behind bars, which is why she did not blame anyone in her last words,” HT quoted SHO Shukla as saying.
The report also mentioned that the police team found the cylinder intact in the kitchen and that the autopsy confirmed death due to burn injuries.
Nikki Bhati dowry death case: CCTV footage
A CCTV footage also went viral, claiming to show that Vipin was not present at the house at the time of the incident. The police are yet to examine it. The video opens to show Vipin standing near a shop at the time of the incident. It then progresses to show him running and then hurrying back. A few seconds later, neighbours are seen rushing towards the house.
“We cannot confirm the authenticity of that video; it was circulating only on social media. It is too early to comment on the timings of the CCTV and the incident,” Greater Noida ADCP, Sudhir Kumar, said Tuesday.
Nikki Bhati dowry death case
Nikki Bhati succumbed to her burn injuries on August 21 after Vipin Bhati’s never-ending dowry demands allegedly led him to pour flammable liquid on her, before setting her on fire. The police said that on the day of the incident, she expressed her desire to reopen her beauty parlour.
Disturbing videos, filmed by her sister Kanchan, who is married to Vipin’s brother Rohit, have also surfaced on social media. In one of the videos, Vipin can be seen physically assaulting Nikki. Another disturbing video shows her stumbling down the stairs after being set ablaze.
The woman was taken to Fortis Hospital with 70 per cent burns and was referred to Safdarjung, where she was declared dead.
Vipin’s cousin Devendra, who took Nikki to the hospital, said that Vipin and his father were at the shop around 5:45 PM. “I saw Vipin, he ran very fast towards home and returned very soon. He told me about the incident. After that I took Nikki to Fortis hospital, along with Vipin’s father and mother,” he told PTI.
Devendra added, “In the car, Nikki was only asking for water. She was also saying that she was feeling suffocated.”
After her daughter succumbed to burn injuries, Nikki’s father, Bhikari Singh Payla, said that Vipin should be shot dead in an encounter and that the family’s house should be rased.
“They are killers, they should be shot, their home razed. My daughter was bringing up her son by running a parlour. They tortured her. The whole family was involved in the conspiracy, and they killed my daughter,” Payla was quoted by NDTV as saying.
Payla tagged Vipin as a “demon” and added that demons have no regrets. He also told the outlet that his daughter never confided in her but always wanted her marriage to work. The grieving father further alleged that Vipin had an extramarital affair and wanted Nikki out of the way.
He told news agency ANI that he once brought his daughter back home, but due to societal pressure, the in-laws took her back and promised that they would not repeat the assault. “But, it continued…,” he told ANI.
Nikki’s mother, Sanju, demanded the death penalty for Vipin and in-laws.
The victim’s six-year-old son, who witnessed the incident, told NDTV, “They first put something on Mumma. Then they slapped her, before setting her on fire with a lighter.”
Sister Kanchan alleged that both of them faced continuous harassment from their in-laws and that their dowry demands never ended. “They asked us to get Rs 36 lakh from our home,” she told the reporters.
According to reports, Vipin’s family demanded a Scorpio and a bullet, which Payla gave for the sake of his daughters’ well-being. Yet, the torture did not stop. Payla later bought a Mercedes for the family, but Vipin allegedly wanted that too, insisting it should be given to him as dowry.
Vipin, however, denied the charges, adding that he didn’t kill her. “I have no remorse. I haven’t killed her. She died on her own. Husbands and wives often have fights…it is very common,” he told news agency ANI.
The FIR in the case was registered at Kasna police station on August 22 under sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 61(2) (attempt to commit offences punishable with life imprisonment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.