Noida: After her husband and mother-in-law, now Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested Nikki Bhati’s brother-in-law Rohit Bhati, and father-in-law Satyavir on Monday in the alleged dowry murder of the 28-year-old woman.
Nikki died of severe burn injuries during treatment at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital after she was allegedly set on fire at her in-laws’ home in Greater Noida last week over the alleged dowry demand of Rs 36 lakh.
Amid massive outrage over her death, some shocking details of the fight that later escalated into the woman’s husband Vipin allegedly setting her on fire have come to the forefront.
According to reports citing police officials, the couple had an argument about her wanting to reopen a beauty parlour with her sister Kanchan on the day of her alleged murder on August 21.
Vipin reportedly was against her plan of opening a parlour but Nikki stood firm and said no one could stop her. “Around 3.30pm, 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 told Hindustan Times.
‘Reels and parlour not allowed in our family’
Vipin had apparently threatened Nikki that she was not allowed to post reels and run a parlour as per his family’s norms. Around two hours later, Nikki’s brother got a call from Kanchan saying Nikki had been set on fire. “We were informed by my sister Kanchan Bhati around 5.30 pm that she was burned alive by her husband Vipin Bhati following a dowry dispute. Kanchan and her in-laws (Vipin’s parents) rushed her from hospital to hospital, as Vipin fled the spot after the incident,” Nikki’s brother Rohit Gurjar told HT.
Nikki and Kanchan—the sisters married in the same house— together ran channels on Instagram and YouTube to promote their parlour. Their account on Instagram had 54,500 followers.
Their handle was called ‘Makeover by Kanchan.’ Nikki’s private account had 1,147 followers and Kanchan’s had 22,000 followers.
View this post on Instagram
Nikki and Kanchan got married in December 2016. Nikki married Vipin, and Kanchan married his brother Rohit. Two years later, Nikki had started facing pressure from her in-laws over dowry demands, her family members have alleged. Nikki’s brother had revealed that she had returned home multiple times over such disputes, which were later resolved.
‘No remorse…I haven’t killed her’
Cops claimed that Vipin showed no remorse during questioning. Rather, he claimed to have not killed Nikki. “… I have no remorse. I haven’t killed her. She died on her own. Husband and wife often have fights, it is very common…” he was seen saying in a clip.
Vipin was arrested on Saturday after cops chased him down. He was shot in his leg while attempting to flee. He had been remanded to a 14-day judicial custody. His mother Daya Bhati was arrested a day later.
