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Noida woman set ablaze over ₹35 lakh dowry, but husband makes a different claim
According to an Instagram post on Saturday, Vipin Bhati appeared to suggest that his wife Nikki had died by suicide.
A man from Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, who has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife by setting her on fire over a dowry demand of ₹36 lakh, has implied in a social media post that she died by suicide.
28-year-old Vipin Bhati has been arrested, while his father Satyaveer Bhati and brother Rohit Bhati remain absconding, Hindustan Times had reported.
As per an NDTV report, an Instagram post made by the main accused surfaced, which linked his wife's death to a suicide.
"Why didn't you tell me what had happened? Why did you leave me? Why did you do this? The world is calling me a killer, Nikki,” the text on the post in Hindi read.
The man went on to write that he was being wronged after his wife left. NDTV further reported that he shared an Instagram story in which he can be seen smiling in a video with Nikki and the couple's son.
“I’m devastated. I’m left with nothing,” he wrote in Hindi. Both of these posts were made just hours before Vipin was arrested for allegedly setting Nikki ablaze for dowry.
Greater Noida set ablaze over dowry demands, dies
The victim, identified as 28-year-old Nikki, died on Thursday due to burn injuries after she was allegedly brutally assaulted and set on fire by her husband.
Videos from the incident in Greater Noida's Sirsa show her husband, 28-year-old Vipin, assaulting her. As per the police, the victim was allegedly doused with inflammable liquid and set on fire. She succumbed to her injuries while being shifted from Fortis Hospital, Noida, to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, officials added further.
Along with Vipin, his parents and elder brother have also been named in the case, and the cops are trying to locate and arrest them.
Constant harassment led to murder, alleges victim's family
At least two witnesses, Nikki’s elder sister Kanchan and the couple's son, have said that the woman was set ablaze by her in-laws. Kanchan is married to Vipin's elder brother and said that both sisters were tortured regularly for dowry, and their in-laws demanded ₹36 lakh.
According to Kanchan, the torture began soon after their marriage in 2016, and Nikki was set ablaze by Vipin and her in-laws in front of her on Thursday.
"We were being tortured, our in-laws would tell us they did not get this or that during the wedding. They asked us to get ₹35 lakh from our home. I was also assaulted between 1.30 AM and 4 AM on Thursday. They told me it would be better if I were dead," Kanchan told the media.
"That same evening, they brutally assaulted my sister in front of me and the children. They then threw some liquid on her and set her ablaze in front of my eyes. I tried to save her, but I could not. Someone took her to the hospital. I don't know who. I had fallen unconscious... I want justice. I want my in-laws to suffer the way they made my sister suffer," she added.
Nikki's son also said his mother was set ablaze with a lighter.
"They poured something on mumma, slapped her and then set her ablaze using a lighter," the minor said.
