In Nikki Bhati Dowry Murder Case, Funeral Video Contradicts Sister's Claim

In a development that casts a shadow over the version given by the family of Nikki Bhati, who was allegedly set ablaze for dowry in Greater Noida last week, some of her in-laws were present for her funeral and her father-in-law also played a key role in her last rites.

Nikki was allegedly killed on the night of Thursday, August 21, and her sister Kanchan - who is also married into the same family living in Greater Noida's Sirsa village - had said she was set ablaze by her husband Vipin and other in-laws. Kanchan had also said that she had fallen unconscious on seeing her 28-year-old sister ablaze and the family members had fled after the crime.

Nikki's father, Bhikari Singh Palya, had also alleged all the in-laws, except Nikki's father-in-law, went on the run after setting her ablaze. 

A video of Nikki's funeral the following morning, which has now emerged, however, shows that her father-in-law and some other people from her husband's family were present there. Nikki's father-in-law, in fact, also lit the funeral pyre. 

Hours after the funeral, at 12.40 pm, a case was registered by Nikki's family accusing her husband Vipin, Kanchan's husband Rohit, her father-in-law and mother-in-law of killing her by setting her ablaze. 

Vipin, Rohit and their parents have all been arrested and Vipin was shot in the leg after he tried to snatch a policeman's pistol.

Late last week, a video had emerged showing Vipin and another woman pulling her by the hair. Vipin was not wearing a shirt and blood could be seen on his stomach and back. In other clips, Nikki could be seen hobbling down the stairs while on fire and then sitting on the floor, her extensive burn injuries clearly visible.

"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 as additional dowry 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'. I was hit several times and I was not in my senses the entire day," Kanchan had said.

"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. Someone took her to the hospital. I don't know who. I had fallen unconscious," she added.