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Nikki Bhati dowry murder: Family 'compromised' for years out of fear of social shame, says brother
Nikki and her sister Kanchan had both endured relentless abuse and torture over dowry demands since their marriage into the Bhati family in 2016.
A brother of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati, who was allegedly set on fire by her husband and in-laws on August 21 over dowry demands, revealed that her family had compromised for years due to fears of "social defamation".
Nikki was set ablaze by her husband, Vipin Bhati, allegedly during an altercation over her posting reels on Instagram and wanting to reopen a beauty parlour she and her sister, Kanchan, used to run.
So far, four people, including Nikki Bhati's husband, mother-in-law Daya Bhati, father-in-law Satyaveer Bhati and brother-in-law Rohit Bhati, who was married to Kanchan, have been arrested in the case.
A case under Section 103 (murder), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the four persons at Kasna police station.
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Nikki and her sister Kanchan had both married into the Bhati family in Greater Noida's Sirsa in 2016. Things went awry as they began enduring endless abuse and increasing dowry demands in their marital life.
The Bhati family had been demanding lavish gifts in dowry, including luxury cars. Their demands included a Scorpio SUV, a Royal Enfield, cash, and gold.
Why did Nikki not return home permanently?
Nikki's family revealed that she even returned home several times, but each time, her in-laws would take her back under the pretext of reconciliation promises.
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Vicky Payla, another of Nikki's brothers, said that she and Vipin Bhati had gotten into a fight a week before her death as well. "But as always, he apologised in front of elderly people and promised not to pick a fight again. Due to social defamation, we were comprising for the past few years. Now Kanchan, who has two kids, has returned home after the incident," Payla said.
Nikki Bhati's murder
On August 21, Nikki told Vipin Bhati that she and her sister would reopen the beauty parlour, sparking an argument that later escalated to her tragic death. However, when he refused, "Nikki said that no one could stop them from reopening, which Bhati opposed", Kasna state house officer Dharmendra Shukla was earlier quoted by HT.
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Shukla added that Vipin told Nikki that posting reels on Instagram and running a parlour "were not allowed".
The argument snowballed into an assault, which further led to him setting her ablaze. Though she was rushed to a hospital, Nikki Bhati succumbed to her injuries.
Nikki's family opened the parlour for her
Nikki's brother Rohit Gurjar revealed that his family invested around ₹8 lakh in his sisters' (Nikki and Kanchan) beauty parlour around 1.5 years ago, as Vipin and Rohit Bhati are unemployed. "The family runs a small grocery shop from their home. My sisters were independently bearing their children’s expenses without asking for money from their husbands. The in-laws were also against their parlour business and damaged the entire parlour in February this year," he added.
The family said that Nikki and Kanchan were running the parlour on the third floor of their home in Sirsa.
