Nikki married Vipin Bhati in 2016. The couple have a six-year-old son
- The father of Nikki Bhati has demanded that the accused be shot dead in an encounter and their house be razed
- According to FIR, Nikki was assaulted by husband Vipin and mother-in-law, Daya, on Thursday and set on fire
- Vipin has been arrested and his family members are on the run
The father of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati, who died after her husband and in-laws allegedly set her on fire over a Rs 36-lakh dowry demand, has demanded that the accused be shot dead in an encounter and their house be razed as punishment for the gruesome crime. Hours later, the husband, Vipin, was shot in the leg when he tried to escape police custody.
Nikki's father, 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 married Vipin Bhati in 2016 and lived in the family home in Kasna. Her sister, Kanchan, is married to Vipin's brother Rohit. 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 and his family members are on the run.
Nikki's father told NDTV that she would not discuss much about her life with her in-laws. "She did not want me to worry, so she tried her best to make the marriage work. But they are killers."
Urging the Yogi Adityanath government to take action, he said, "They shoot pickpockets in the leg and they won't kill these murderers? This is a BJP government." He also alleged that Vipin was in a relationship with someone else and wanted Nikki out of the way.
Nikki's mother, Sanju, was inconsolable. "The son and mother should be hanged. My daughter died in so much pain."
Speaking to the media yesterday, Nikki's sister, Kanchan, said they were married on the same day in 2016, and the Bhatis later demanded that their family pay Rs 36 lakh as dowry.
"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," she said.
A traumatic aspect of the heinous crime is that Nikki's six-year-old son witnessed his mother's torture. "They first put something on Mumma. Then they slapped her, before setting her on fire with a lighter," said the shaken boy.
