Nikki Bhati, a 28-year-old woman in Greater Noida, was allegedly set on fire by her husband and in-laws for a dowry demand of Rs 36 lakh after nine years of marriage, officials said. But, since she got
married to Vipin in 2016, that was not the only dowry they sought.
The dowry items included expensive materials, which, according to the victim woman’s family, were given, yet the family allegedly kept on torturing her.
Kanchan, Nikki’s elder sister, was married to the same family. Nikki was allegedly brutally assaulted and set on fire by her husband in front of their minor son and Kanchan. Horrific videos of the incident also surfaced online.
After the incident, Kanchan said that barely six months into their marriage in 2016, Vipin started torturing Nikki for dowry. Both of them were asked to give Rs 36 lakh from their paternal side.
“Our father gifted a top-model Scorpio SUV, a Bullet (Royal Enfield) bike, cash, gold, everything. Besides this, gifts would be sent from our home on Karwa Chauth. Our parents did all they could, but the in-laws were not happy. They kept criticising. They would say the clothes gifted by my parents cost Rs 2,” Kanchan told NDTV.
Detailing the horror, she said, “We were being tortured, our in-laws would tell us they did not get this or that during the wedding. They asked us to get Rs 36 lakh from our home. I was also assaulted between 1.30 am and 4 am on Thursday. They told me, ‘We have got dowry for one (sister), what about the other? You are better off dead. We will marry again.”
“That same evening, they brutally assaulted my sister in front of me and the children. They then threw some liquid on her and set her ablaze in front of my eyes. I tried to save her, but I could not,” the grieving sister recalled.
However, this sum was not their only dowry demand, as they had earlier demanded expensive products, such as four-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles.
“First, they demanded a Scorpio in dowry, which was given. Later, they asked for a Bullet motorcycle, and that too was provided. Yet, they kept torturing my daughter,” the father of the victim, Bhikari Singh Payla, told India Today TV.
The report also said that the father had recently bought a Mercedes, and the vehicle was also on the greedy husband’s radar, as he had demanded that as well.
Nikki’s brother said that their family met all the demands put forth by the husband during the marriage. He said that Nikki’s and Kanchan’s husbands used to torture them on a regular basis for dowry, and the younger one was more cruel.
“This had been going on for a long time; their demands were increasing day by day after the marriage,” he said.
The minor son of the deceased woman also spoke about the horror that unfolded in front of his eyes and said, “They poured something on mumma, slapped her, and then set her ablaze using a lighter.”
