Why did Vipin Bhati kill Nikki, burn her alive? Here's what probe revealed in Greater Noida dowry murder case

Vipin Bhati has been accused of killing his wife, Nikki, in Greater Noida. The sensational murder case came to light after a viral video showed the accused husband and another woman assaulting Nikki and dragging her by the hair.

Another purported video clip showed Nikki, severely burnt, walking down a staircase before collapsing. She had succumbed to burns while being taken to a hospital on Thursday night.

The incident reportedly happened on Thursday night.

Vipin Bhati was arrested on Saturday. He was shot in the leg as he attempted to flee custody on Sunday. In a video following the police encounter, Vipin showed "no remorse" and said, "husband and wife often have fights."

He has been sent to 14-day judicial custody, according to the police.

Why did Vipin kill Nikki?

Initial reports claimed that Vipin used to abuse Nikki, demanding a dowry of ₹36 lakh.

"Their demands were increasing day by day... and they had started asking for ₹36 lakh in dowry from us," said the father of 26-year-old Nikki, who was allegedly tortured and set ablaze by her in-laws in Greater Noida.

Nikki's father Bhikahri Singh said he helped his daughter open her own beauty parlour as “Vipin had no work”. He alleged Nikki's husband Vipin and in-laws “kept asking for money”.

"Since the marriage, they kept asking for money; sometimes they said, ‘Give us your Mercedes’, or asked for our Scorpio. I . He then started stealing money from the parlour," Singh told PTI Video.

Meanwhile, police officials were quoted by Hindustan Times as saying that on 21 August, Nikki told her husband she planned to reopen her beauty parlour, which triggered a fight between her and Vipin.

“Investigation revealed that around 3.30 pm, Nikki told Vipin that she and her sister would reopen the parlour. When he refused, Nikki said that no one could stop them from reopening, which Bhati opposed,” Kasna station house officer Dharmendra Shukla said.

“Vipin told her that in their family, posting reels on Instagram and running a parlour were not allowed. The issue turned ugly, and he started assaulting her,” Shukla said.

The sisters were active on their Instagram and YouTube, running beauty channels for the parlour under the handle “Makeover by Kannchan.”

Nikki murder case: 4 arrested

Four people have been arrested in connection with the Great Noida dowry harrassment and murder case. They include Vipin Bhati, Nikki's mother-in-law, father in-law and brother in-law.

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

Vipin Bhati, who is accused of murdering his wife, was sent to a 14-day judicial custody. Police said that Vipin was accused of setting his wife on fire, who later succumbed to her injuries. He was also accused of frequently assaulting Nikki.

However, Bhati denied the allegations. He said on Sunday, “I did not kill her. She died on her own.” When asked about the accusations of physical assault, he replied, "Husband and wife often have fights; it is very common..."

The victim's father told ANI that she had 70 per cent burns and was pronounced dead at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.