Police officials in north India’s Uttar Pradesh made multiple arrests on Monday after a woman was allegedly killed over dowry demands by her husband and his family.
Police said Nikki Payla, 26, was burnt to death by her husband Vipin Bhati on Thursday in Greater Noida after he was unable to extract Rs 3.5m and a luxury car from her family as dowry.
The Uttar Pradesh police said they arrested the main accused, Payla’s husband Bhati, on Sunday and shot him in the leg when he allegedly tried to escape from their custody. The police officials also arrested Mr Bhati’s mother who has also been accused of assaulting and torturing the woman.
On Monday, police officials made further arrests and held Mr Bhati’s father Satya Veer, 55, and his brother Rohit Bhati, 28, at Sirsa Chauraha in the same state, they said.
The police were alerted about the case on Thursday when they received a memo from a private hospital regarding a woman who was being referred to a government hospital in Delhi after suffering major burn injuries.
“We received a memo from Fortis Hospital at Kasna police station that a woman was admitted after she suffered severe burn injuries and was later referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi,” said Sudhir Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police Greater Noida, reported The Indian Express.
The young woman died on her way to being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, police officials said.
Mr Kumar added that prima facie it seems the woman was set ablaze using highly flammable paint thinner. He added that the police are investigating the killing from all angles and have also taken the videos shared by her family members, since gone viral on social media, into consideration.
“We received a complaint from her sister against her in-laws and husband, and filed the First Information Report,” said Dharmendra Shukla, station house officer.
Payla’s sister, Kanchan, who is married to Vipin’s younger brother Rohit, shared videos of the alleged assault which have been circulated on social media.
The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the videos.
According to Payla’s family, their two daughters were facing torture and incessant demands for dowry since their marriage in 2016. They said they had already given the the Bhati family a Scorpio SUV car, a Royal Enfield motorcycle and gold jewellery. The family also allegedly sought Rs3,600,000 (£30,400) in cash and a luxury car.
After his arrest on Sunday, Mr Bhati denied killing his wife.
“I have no remorse. I haven’t killed her. She died on her own. Husbands and wives often have fights…it is very common,” he told news agency ANI.
The recent case shows the continuing trend of men’s families illegally seeking dowry in India. Every year, between 2017 and 2022, an average of 7,000 cases of dowry deaths were reported across India, according to the country’s National Crime Records Bureau. The actual estimate is expected to be higher as several cases go unreported.
