Vipin Bhati, the man who allegedly tortured and killed his wife in a dowry-related case in Greater Noida, insisted on Sunday that she died “on her own”.
“I have no remorse for I did not kill her,” the 28-year-old prime accused said, repeating a claim he made on social media trying to project it as a case of suicide.
He reacted also to reports that he used to assault his wife throughout their marriage. “Miya-biwi mein ladai hoti rehti hai (It's normal for husband-wife to have fights in a marriage). I don't want to say anything else,” he said when confronted with videos going viral online.
He was asked questions by the media when he was brought to a hospital as he was shot in the leg by UP Police when he allegedly tried to escape from their custody.
{{/usCountry}}He was asked questions by the media when he was brought to a hospital as he was shot in the leg by UP Police when he allegedly tried to escape from their custody.
{{/usCountry}}Also read | Dragged by hair, set on fire with lighter: 5 chilling details of Noida dowry death
Vipin allegedly set his wife, Nikki Bhati (28), on fire after brutal torture following unfulfilled demands of ₹35 lakh and another car. His family, too, used to torture her for dowry, Nikki's family has alleged.
Their six-year-old son witnessed this regularly.
“That person (Vipin) is not human; he is a butcher,” said Nikki's father during a protest outside the local police station in Kasana.
"We once brought her back home because of all this domestic violence, but because of societal pressure, they came and took her back on the promise of not repeating this. It continued. Now they have got what they wanted," he said.
Vipin's father Satyaveer Bhati and brother Rohit Bhati are on the run. The FIR also names his mother, Daya.
Victim's sister, married in same family, recorded proof
Nikki's elder sister, Kanchan, who is married in the same family, purportedly recorded the torture on Thursday, and called up her family. She said both sisters were assaulted together and she was left unconscious.
Vipin and Nikki were married in December 2016. Kanchan said the in-laws began pressuring the family for more lakh soon after, and both sisters were tortured.
"These people had set her on fire and fled. Neighbours took her to Fortis Hospital. When we reached, she had 70 per cent burns. They referred us to Safdarjung Hospital, citing their inability to treat her. We booked an ambulance and took her to Safdarjung Hospital, where she was pronounced dead," the father told ANI.
"These monsters didn't think twice before doing this to someone's daughter. They did not think about how we educated her and got her married. They should be hanged... Both my daughters were married into the same family. My grandson has also told everyone how and what happened," he said.