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Nikki Bhati’s death: Greater Noida police to focus probe on direct evidence
Greater Noida police have also confirmed that the main accused, Vipin Bhati, 30, had previously been booked in 2024 for allegedly assaulting another woman.
After the death of Nikki Bhati in Greater Noida, who suffered burn injuries after allegedly being set on fire at her in-laws’ home in Sirsa village, police said on Saturday that their investigation will focus only on evidence directly linked to the case.
The 26-year-old woman, Nikki Bhati, died on August 21. Acting on a complaint filed by her sister Kanchan, who is married to Nikki’s brother-in-law Rohit, police subsequently arrested her husband Vipin, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Rohit.
“We are probing the cause of her death and a general diary is being maintained. Whatever is relevant to the probe will be recorded,” The Indian Express quoted Sudheer Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, as saying.
The Greater Noida police have also confirmed that the main accused, Vipin Bhati, 30, had previously been booked in 2024 for allegedly assaulting another woman. The offence was bailable, and a charge sheet was filed in court, the report added.
Nikki’s sister-in-law, Meenakshi also alleged that she had suffered abuse in the household. Married to Rohit since 2016, she said she was not permitted to keep a phone or communicate with others, and accused her husband, mother-in-law, Nikki, and Kanchan of assaulting her and subjecting her to dowry-related humiliation. She added that a complaint she lodged in 2020 was later resolved through a decision by the local panchayat.
“We are working on it and we do not want to divulge any details regarding the case,” assistant commissioner of police, Arvind Kumar, declined to provide details.
Investigators also revealed that a panchayat meeting was held in mid-April, where Nikki's family and in-laws reached certain “assurances” to settle disputes between the couple.
As part of this, 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 return, the Bhati family assured that Nikki’s husband, Vipin, would not misbehave with her.
