Noida dowry killing: Why did cops arrest Vipin Bhati's mother over Nikki's death?

Noida police on Sunday arrested Vipin Bhati's mother, Dayavati, in connection with the probe into the alleged murder of her daughter-in-law, Nikki. She was allegedly set ablaze by her husband, Bhati and his parents for dowry.

 

According to police,  Bhati's mother, Dayavati, was arrested by cops from Kasna police station on Sunday. Nikki's family charged that Vipin Bhati and his parents used to torture and assault her, demanding dowry. Bhati's family allegedly demanded a dowry of ₹36 lakh from Nikki's family. Nikki's sister, Kanchan, was also married into the same family, and she was also assaulted by the family. 

 

 

According to Kanchan, Nikki’s husband, Vipin Bhati, and his family members assaulted her sister before setting her on fire in front of her son and Kanchan on Thursday. Kanchan managed to record two videos of the in-laws assaulting and burning her sister. 

 

Kanchan alleged that their mother-in-law passed a flammable substance to Vipin, who poured it over her sister. When Kancha protested, they had struck her neck and beaten her, causing her to faint, according to Nav Bharat.

 

Though Nikki was taken to the hospital, she succumbed to burns. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhir Kumar had on Friday said that police got a call from Fortis Hospital informing them that a woman with burn injuries had been admitted and was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. "Police immediately left for Safdarjung Hospital, but the woman succumbed to her injuries before the team could reach the hospital," he told PTI.

 

According to Kanchan, Vipin's family wanted to get rid of Nikki so that they could get him remarried to another woman. Nikki married Vipin in 2016, and the couple has a son.

 

Police arrested Bhati on Saturday after a video of him assaulting Nikki surfaced on social media. Police shot Bhati in the leg while he tried to escape from their custody. A second video showed Nikki, severely burnt, walking down a staircase before collapsing.  

 

Kanchan charged,  "We were beaten and tortured for days. They were demanding ₹36 lakh. They hit her on the neck and head, threw acid, and set her on fire in front of her child."

 

Nikki's father, Bhikhari Singh Payla, welcomed the arrest and appreciated the police's probe in the case. "The monsters burnt her to death. I am happy that the mother-in-law has been arrested. She is behind the entire conspiracy," ANI reported. Payla charged instead of disciplining her son, Bhati's mother encouraged him to commit such violent acts.

India