Cops make 4th arrest in Noida dowry death case; deceased Nikki Bhati's father-in-law held

Nikki Bhati's brother-in-law, married to her own sister, was arrested earlier on Monday, while two others - her mother-in-law and husband – were held on wekeend

Updated on: Aug 25, 2025, 11:57:42 IST

By HT News Desk

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Apprehending the victim's father-in-law, the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday made the fourth arrest in the Greater Noida dowry death case in which a woman named Nikki Bhati was set on fire at her in-laws' place on August 21.

Nikki Bhati's brother-in-law was arrested earlier on Monday. (HT)

Nikki Bhati's brother-in-law, married to her own sister, was arrested earlier on Monday, while two others - her mother-in-law and husband – were held on Sunday and Saturday, respectively.

Nikki Bhati's husband, Vipin Bhati, accused of murdering her over dowry demands, was nabbed on Saturday after getting injured in a police encounter on Saturday. He was sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Sisters Nikki and Kanchan were married into the same household in Greater Noida's Sirsa in December 2016.

Grim details on what led to the murder and disturbing visuals of the incident have been emerging since the case came to the fore and hit headlines.

Nikki Bhati, 28, was set on fire at home on August 21 due to what police said was an altercation over her posting reels on Instagram and wanting to reopen a beauty parlour she used to run. Police interrogated her husband Vipin Bhati on Sunday.

Vipin Bhati also said that he had “no remorse” for the incident, which led to her death, an earlier HT report quoted the police.

The family of the victim, Nikki, claimed that she had been tortured since her marriage in 2016 by them for a dowry demand of ₹36 lakh, even after they had fulfilled their demand for Scorpio vehicle and a motorcycle.

Triggering videos of the August 21 incident and testimonies of Nikki's son and sister surfaced on social media on how the accused husband, Vipin Bhati and another woman assaulted the victim and dragged her by the hair.

In one of the videos, a man was seen pouring a liquid (thinner used in parlour) on Nikki while she sat on the floor. In another, Vipin was seen assaulting her brutally. A third video showed Nikki, severely burnt, walking down a staircase before collapsing.

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HT News Desk
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