Scorpio, Bike, Gold: UP Family Gave Huge Dowry. In-Laws Wanted 36 Lakh More

A Scorpio SUV, a Royal Enfield bike, cash and gold -- Nikki's family had gifted all they could to her husband, Vipin Bhati, during the couple's wedding in 2016. But all of this could not satiate the Bhatis' greed and they asked for more dowry. And when Nikki could not arrange for Rs 36 lakh as demanded, she was brutally assaulted and set on fire, allegedly by her husband and mother-in-law Daya.

Nikki and her sister, Kanchan, married brothers Vipin and Rohit, respectively, on December 10, 2016. "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," a shaken Kanchan, who saw her sister in flames, told NDTV.

Nightouts, Then Assaults

She said Vipin and Rohit would often stay out till late and not receive their wives' calls. "If we asked them where they were, they would create a scene. They would spend time with other women, and when we confronted them, they would hit us. Our nights were spent crying. Nothing is left now, my sister is gone. She was about two-three years younger than me, but people thought we were twins," Kanchan said.

She said the sisters ran a make-up studio, but the in-laws didn't like this. "They would take all our earnings. We were beaten up over this. If I had not shot this video, nobody would know how my sister died. I poured water, tried to save her, but fainted midway," she said.

A Chilling Murder Caught On Camera

According to the FIR based on Kanchan's complaint, Nikki was assaulted by her husband and mother-in-law, Daya, on Thursday evening. When Kanchan intervened, she was thrashed too. Vipin allegedly poured a flammable substance on Nikki and set her on fire.

Shocking visuals recorded by Kanchan show Vipin assaulting Nikki. Another clip shows a burning Nikki stumbling down a staircase. She was rushed to a nearby hospital that referred her to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, where she died. Vipin has been arrested. His parents and brother are on the run.

Kanchan said she heard the accused say, "Maar do, kaam khatam karo. (Kill her, get done with)"

Son's Horror, Father's Demand

Nikki and Vipin have a six-year-old son who witnessed her mother's torture and death. "They first put something on Mumma. Then they slapped her, before setting her on fire with a lighter," said the shaken boy after Nikki died of her injuries.

The father of 28-year-old Nikki has demanded that the accused be shot dead in an encounter and their house be razed as punishment for the gruesome crime. Bhikari Singh Payla told NDTV, "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." Nikki's mother, Sanju, was inconsolable. "The son and mother should be hanged. My daughter died in so much pain."