Panchayat settled Feb dispute between Nikki Bhati and Vipin: Cops

Nikki and her sister Kanchan were asked to sign an “undertaking” that they would stop making social media reels, police said

Investigators probing the death of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati have revealed that a panchayat meeting was held in mid-April where her family and her in-laws struck a set of “assurances” to resolve disputes between the couple. Among these, Nikki and her sister Kanchan — who was also married into the same family — were asked to sign an “undertaking” that they would stop making social media reels. In turn, the Bhati family assured them that Nikki’s husband, Vipin, would not misbehave with her.

Nikki Bhati. (HT Photo)

Investigators working on the case told HT on Thursday that the meeting was convened after Nikki walked out of her marital home following a violent altercation with Vipin on February 11. Earlier this week, a video of that incident surfaced on social media, purportedly showing a shirtless Vipin brutally assaulting Nikki inside their home.

“Investigation revealed that Nikki and Vipin had a fight on February 11, after which both Nikki and her sister returned to their parents’ house in Roopvas village, Dadri. Two months later, in April, their in-laws approached them and requested a settlement through a panchayat. Elders from both families gathered and laid down conditions,” said a senior police officer privy to the probe.

The officer cited above said that the conditions included restrictions on Nikki and Kanchan’s use of social media.

“Both sisters were asked to stop making reels and limit their online activity. On the other side, Vipin’s family promised that he would not misbehave with them,” the officer said.

Police said Nikki’s family viewed the demands as unfair, pointing out that Vipin himself, along with his mother and married sister, were active on social media.“Why were only my sister restricted when his entire family was using it? said Nikki’s brother Vicky Payla.

Despite these objections, Nikki returned to her marital home in Sirsa after the meeting, police said.

But according to her relatives, the disputes quickly resurfaced. Vipin allegedly resumed drinking and picking fights, and when Nikki and Kanchan began using social media again and expressed interest in reopening their beauty parlour, tensions escalated further.

Vicky recalled that their father had intervened just a week before her death. “She called us about another fight. My father went to their home and counselled them not to quarrel. We thought things might improve,” he said.

Bhikari Singh said he had agreed to the April compromise only because Vipin’s father, Satveer, had apologised on his son’s behalf. “We wanted our daughter’s marriage to work, so we accepted the assurances,” he said.

Nikki’s family members alleged that Vipin was hostile to Nikki’s social media presence because it threatened to expose his extramarital affair.

“He posed as a bachelor to other women. If my sister posted reels with him, he feared that his female friend would discover he was married. Around two years ago, he forced her to make her account private,” Nikki’s brother Vicky said on Thursday. “In this case, my sisters spied on Vipin and caught him red-handed with a girl,” he added.

Investigators confirmed that Vipin was previously booked in an assault case at Jarcha police station linked to his alleged extramarital relationship. A case under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult), and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the BNS was registered against Vipin and his friend on October 25, in which a woman alleged that they took her in a car and assaulted her.

The sleuths also said that Vipin had factory-reset his phone before being taken into custody. The device has been sent for forensic examination.

Greater Noida additional deputy commissioner of police Suhir Kumar said, “Our investigation is underway from all angles; soon we will file a chargesheet.”

Nikki, who is survived by her six-year-old son, her sister Kanchan, and two elder brothers, sustained severe burn injuries on August 21 at her Sirsa residence. She was rushed to a private hospital in Greater Noida and later referred to another facility. While being taken to Delhi for treatment, she succumbed to her injuries.

Since then, all four members of Vipin’s family – his mother, father, brother and Vipin himself have been arrested in the case.

Police said that Nikki’s dying declaration and the refusal of her family to consent to a post-mortem have complicated the investigation, but investigators said they are still working on nabbing all accused. Officials said they are examining digital evidence, family testimonies, and forensic inputs to build the case.