Dowry Murder Accused Shot At, Hours After Woman's Father Demanded Encounter

Vipin Bhati, the husband of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati, who died after she was assaulted and set on fire at her in-laws' home in Greater Noida, suffered a gunshot wound in his leg when he tried to escape police custody, police have said.

Vipin was arrested after his wife, Nikki, died during treatment at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Thursday. She was hospitalised with serious burn injuries that evening. Her sister Kanchan, who is married to Vipin's brother Rohit, has alleged that Vipin and his mother Daya set Nikki on fire. Chilling visuals shared by Kanchan show the mother and son assaulting Nikki. Another clip shows a burning Nikki stumbling down a staircase. While Vipin has been arrested, his mother Daya, father Satyavir, and brother Rohit are on the run.

This morning, in an interview with NDTV, Nikki's father, Bhikari Singh Payla, said he wanted the accused to be shot. "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," he said, hours before Vipin attempted escape and cops opened fire.

Senior police officer Sudhir Kumar told the media that they took Vipin to his home today to recover the bottle containing the flammable liquid used to burn Nikki. "He snatched a cop's pistol and opened fire. In retaliatory firing, he suffered a bullet injury in his leg."

Speaking to news agency ANI after he was shot and hospitalised, Vipin said, "I have not done anything. She died on her own." He also said, "Fights between husband and wife happen everywhere. It is not a big deal."  

Following the encounter, Nikki's father said, "I am happy. Such people should be shot or hanged. He should have been shot in the chest. Those on the run should be hanged." 

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.

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.

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.