Years of Alleged Harassment, One Tragic Day: Who Is Responsible For Nikki Bhati's Death?

In Dadri, Greater Noida, tense faces gather outside the parental home of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati. On August 21, she was allegedly set on fire by her husband, Vipin Bhati, and his family after years of abuse and dowry harassment. Nikki’s husband, Vipin, his brother Rohit, and their mother, Daya, and father Satveer, are all named as accused in the FIR. All four have been arrested.

The Home That Held Nikki

Inside Nikki’s home, people sit under cloth shades while media crews move around. Her father sits in front of a camera for an interview and suddenly collapses. Those around urge him to hold himself together, giving him water and asking him to rest, but someone in the crowd points out that reporters have surrounded the family since the second day of the incident, and 'they are tired of repeating the loss they have suffered'.

Nikki and her sister Kanchan were married into the Bhati family in 2016. According to the family, the sisters were beaten more than once and sent back to their parents’ home. Each time they were persuaded to return, holding on to the hope of reconciliation. The family alleges that the in-laws demanded and received a Scorpio SUV, gold, and later a motorcycle. But the demands did not stop there; Vipin’s family later also asked for ₹36 lakh, or a Mercedes.

Rohit, Nikki’s elder brother, with heavy eyes and a broken spirit, told Outlook, “I have literally raised Nikki. She was like my child, the most happy-go-lucky, caring, and loving person. She was full of joy, loved to go shopping, and would argue if I didn’t buy her anything. Kanchan was more introverted, but Nikki? Such a talented kid. Nikki looked after the boutique because she liked fashion, while Kanchan is a make-up artist. Everything is lost now. If I had known, I would never have let them go the last time they came back. I had given Nikki 60,000 to restart her boutique and parlour. I supported their dreams in every way possible.”

Rohit further alleged that Vipin was a drug addict, that he was either always drunk or always high, and that he had affairs with other women, and Nikki had caught several times. He says that during the winters, Vipin had been released from a nasha mukti kendra.

“In January, they made my sister close her business, and things had gotten ugly again. But after some months, she stood for herself again and said she would restart her parlour. I request people who are watching this case, make sure that you take care of your sisters, of your daughters. Don’t let this happen to them. If even once someone tries to humiliate them or beats them, just take action right at that moment, don’t make the mistake that we made", says Rohit.

On 21 August, Nikki apparently told Vipin that she and her sister would reopen the parlour. When he refused, Nikki insisted that no one could stop them. According to the police, Nikki was beaten, allegedly doused with a flammable liquid, and set on fire at her Sirsa residence after she had told her husband about reopening the beauty parlour and posting on social media. She died from her injuries while being taken to a Delhi hospital.

According to the media, videos of her final moments, reportedly filmed by her elder sister Kanchan, have circulated online, including one that shows Nikki on the stairs while engulfed in flames.

Voices and Evidence

Outlook also visited Sirsa, Bulandshahr, where Nikki lived with her in-laws. A three-floor building stood locked. Locals surrounded the area, giving interviews, claiming that Vipin is innocent, that he comes from a good family. Some claimed 'they were right at the spot when they saw him run back inside the house when Nikki caught fire'.

Locals had a varying recollection of the incident. Some said they helped put Nikki, half-alive, into the car. Some said Vipin couldn’t drive, others said his brother did, or maybe his father-in-law. They reiterated that a CCTV footage showed Vipin outside the house at the time of the incident.

Friends, neighbours, and locals all used the same word, “hopeless.” They said Vipin went hopeless when the screams rose from inside. They claim he was running back and forth, empty-eyed, lost, like a man who was losing grasp of reality.

One of the locals, a 15-year-old boy, who alleged that he helped in keeping the body of Nikki inside the car, said, “If an argument happens between a wife and a husband over an issue, then she should listen to her husband. All Vipin wanted was for Nikki to stop uploading reels on Instagram and close the parlour. What was wrong with that? Vipin used to receive calls from his friends where they would embarrass him by saying, ‘See how famous your wife is becoming, look at the comments on her posts.’ And if you talk about the child, he’s a five-year-old kid; anyone can brainwash a child into saying anything.”

Devendra, Vipin’s cousin, speaking outside the locked house, said the family had nothing to do with Nikki’s death. He said he witnessed Vipin run inside the house when he heard his wife’s screams and how Vipin absolutely loved his wife, had names of his wife and child tattooed on his arms, and always took care of both of them in every way possible.

Devendra further said Vipin’s family has assets and pots of money, and asked how it is possible for some to have so much and still be greedy.

Vipin had attempted to escape police custody in Greater Noida on Sunday, 24 August. During the escape, he allegedly snatched a policeman’s pistol and was shot in the leg before being recaptured. He was admitted to a private hospital following the incident. In a public statement, he said, “I have not done anything. I do not want to say anything more.”

Vidya (65), the sister of Satveer Bhati, Nikki's father-in-law, was seen sitting in the veranda of a kothi near the location of the incident, surrounded by neighbours. Vidya said all allegations of dowry harassment by Nikki’s family were 'baseless' and proudly claimed that her brother Satveer used to sell and buy many cars every month, and money was always more than enough.

“All I want to say is that my brother, my nephew, and all those arrested are innocent. Nikki herself has done this to herself. Didn’t you see that video of Nikki? Why is her sister (Kanchan) making a video instead of saving her sister? Who does that? Did you hear how in the video her sister is saying, ‘yeh tune kya krliya behen,’ ‘what did you do to yourself’? Now tell me, if one sees their loved one in any kind of danger, they run to save them, not start making a video. Nikki and Kanchan had planned to do something serious yet not life-threatening to blackmail my nephew and my brother, but their plan went out of control.”

According to media, videos have circulated online showing parts of the attack. In one, Vipin allegedly pours liquid on Nikki while she sits on the floor. Another shows her engulfed in flames, walking down a staircase.

Her six-year-old son confirmed that his father slapped her, poured liquid, and set her on fire, said a report. Kanchan, who was present, tried to intervene but was also attacked. She has reportedly recorded clips that have become key evidence.

The police said the CCTV footage circulating online, which claims that Vipin Bhati was not at the scene, is part of the ongoing investigation. They emphasised that its authenticity has not yet been verified. Greater Noida's additional deputy commissioner of police, Sudhir Kumar, in a statement on Tuesday said, “We cannot confirm the authenticity of that video; it was circulating only on social media. It is too early to comment on the timings of the CCTV and the incident.”

An FIR has been registered at Kasna police station on 22 August, citing sections 103(1) for murder, 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt, and 61(2) for attempt to commit an offence punishable with life imprisonment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Whereas in the end, Rohit with a painful smile showed old pictures of him and his sisters, and said quietly, “We don’t even have a picture with Nikki of our last Rakshabandhan.”