The father of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati, who was allegedly set ablaze by her husband and in-laws over a Rs 36-lakh dowry demand, has finally spoken out. Bhikari Singh Payla said that his son-in-law deserved to be shot dead in an encounter after what he did to her daughter. He also demanded that the family’s home be demolished.
The police nabbed Nikki’s husband, Vipin, in connection with the gruesome crime. He tried to escape police custody, and for that, he snatched a pistol from an officer while being taken to cover a thinner bottle he had purchased. Police then shot him in the leg, and he was later taken to a hospital for treatment.
“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 further told the outlet, “How will he have regrets? Demons have no regrets. He knows what he did, and he will be answerable to God and no one else.”
Payla also told the outlet that his daughter never confided much about her in-laws and their behaviour towards her, as she didn’t want to burden her parents. She also wanted her marriage to work, and was trying hard. “But they are killers.”
The grieving father further alleged that Vipin had an extramarital affair and wanted Nikki out of the way.
‘This society had forced me to send her home’: Nikki’s father
Payla later recounted the horrific events. He said that he received a call from her daughter, Kanchan and that the family rushed to the hospital. “These people had set her on fire and fled. Their neighbours took her to Fortis Hospital. When we reached, she had 70 per cent burns. They referred us to Safdarjung Hospital, citing their inability to treat her. We booked an ambulance and took her to Safdarjung Hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” he told ANI.
“These monsters didn’t think twice before doing this to someone’s daughter. They didn’t think about how we educated her and got her married. Didn’t it hurt them when they were setting someone’s daughter on fire?” he added.
He went on to say, “They kept asking for dowry; now their demands have been met. I just married my daughter as per tradition. Their dowry demands have been met now that my daughter has died.”
Payla further said that Vipin is a “butcher”, adding, “We once brought her home because of all this domestic violence, but because of societal pressure, they came and took her back on the promise of not repeating this. But, it continued….”
‘My daughter died in so much pain’: Nikki’s mother
Nikki’s mother, Sanju, demanded the death penalty for her daughter’s killers – husband and mother-in-law. “My daughter died in so much pain,” an inconsolable Sanju told NDTV.
‘We were tortured by in-laws’: Nikki’s sister
Nikki’s sister Kanchan, who is married to Vipin’s brother Rohit, said that both of them were subjected to continuous harassment, with their in-laws raising new dowry demands every time. “They asked us to get Rs 36 lakh from our home,” she told the media yesterday.
According to reports, Vipin’s family had earlier demanded a Scorpio, which was given, followed by a bike, which was also provided for the sake of the 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.
Six-year-old son’s account
Nikki’s six-year-old son also witnessed the horrifying assault on his mother. Speaking to NDTV, he said, “They first put something on Mumma. Then they slapped her, before setting her on fire with a lighter.”
‘I didn’t kill her’: Vipin
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.
Nikki and Vipin Bhati married in 2016, the same day her sister Kanchan married Vipin’s brother Rohit. Both couples lived in the same family home in Kasna. According to the FIR filed by Kanchan, Vipin and his mother, Daya, assaulted Nikki on Thursday evening. When Kanchan tried to intervene, they attacked her too. The assault escalated, and Vipin allegedly set Nikki on fire.
The now-viral videos, which were recorded by Kanchan, show Vipin physically assaulting Nikki. Another disturbing video shows her stumbling down the stairs after being set ablaze.
Police make arrests
Rohit was arrested by Kasna Police near Sirsa Toll Chauraha today, August 25, following a tip-off and manual intelligence inputs. Nikki’s mother-in-law was arrested the same day her husband, Vipin, was arrested. They both were arrested on Sunday. Satya Veer has also been arrested by the police from Sirsa Chauraha.
The accused have been booked under sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sudhir Kumar, ADCP Greater Noida, said that, initial investigation into the case reveals that the family burnt the woman using a thinner. “We are investigating from all angles and have also taken all the viral videos into consideration,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.
Dharmendra Shukla, SHO Kasna, told IE that Nikki’s body was sent for post-mortem and she was cremated on Friday.