Dowry, Then Cash And More Cash: Nikki Bhati's Uncle On Why They Never said No | Read

The family of Nikki Bhati - burnt alive by her husband and mother-in-law - say their hands were tied by a social system where the in-laws have more power over a married woman than her parents. And they gave in to the repeated demands for money from her in-laws because she insisted, and to keep the peace in her family, he said. 

The 26-year-old -- married at the age of 18 to a student with no income - was beaten regularly when she failed to bring in money from her parents. On Thursday, she was beaten and set on fire. She died before she could get medical help.

Asked why they gave in to the Bhati family's demands and whether they were partly responsible for her in-laws becoming progressively greedy, Nikki's uncle Rajkumar Singh told NDTV in an exclusive interview that they had "no idea that it would come to this".