Vipin Bhati, who was arrested for assaulting his 28-year-old Nikki Bhati and setting her on fire along with other family members over a dowry demand, was shot in his leg by police when he tried to escape custody. Following his wife Nikki's death during medical treatment at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Thursday, Vipin was arrested on Saturday. Nikki had been admitted that evening with severe burn wounds.
Nikki's sister Kanchan, who is wed to Vipin's brother Rohit, has accused Vipin and his mother Daya of setting Nikki ablaze. Disturbing footage provided by Kanchan shows the mother-son duo attacking Nikki, while another video captures a burning Nikki falling down stairs. Though Vipin is in police custody, his mother Daya, father Satyavir, and brother Rohit remain at large.
Earlier today, speaking with NDTV, Nikki's father Bhikari Singh Payla expressed his desire for the perpetrators to face lethal consequences. "These murderers deserve to be shot, their house demolished. My daughter supported her child by operating a beauty salon. They subjected her to abuse. The entire family conspired together and murdered my daughter," he declared, just hours before Vipin's escape attempt resulted in police gunfire.
According to reports, the accused attempted to flee custody this afternoon, prompting a police pursuit. At the Sirsa roundabout in Greater Noida, officers shot him in the leg before returning him to jail.
The accused told news agency ANI that he has no remorse for murdering his wife and maintained his innocence, saying: "I haven’t killed her. She died on her own. Husband and wife often have fights; it is very common…"
