The Greater Noida Police shot and injured Vipin Bhati, the prime accused in the alleged murder case of Nikki, a woman who was burnt to death in front of her son and sister. He had tried to escape arrest.
Police said that Vipin tried to get hold of a pistol from an officer while being taken by the police to recover a thinner bottle her had purchased. He then tried to flee from custody despite repeated warnings from the officers. Officers then opened fire, and one of the bullets struck his leg.
Vipin, along with his other family members, was accused of murdering Nikki over dowry demands. He has shown no remorse over the incident. “ 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 said.
Nikki’s father, Bhikari Singh Payla, said that the police did the right thing. “A criminal always tries to run, and Vipin was a criminal. We request that the others should also be caught.” Earlier, her father had said that the accused should be shot dead in an encounter.
"They are killers, they should be shot, their home razed. My daughter was bringing up her son by running a parlour. They tortured her. The whole family was involved in the conspiracy, and they killed my daughter," Payla said while speaking to NDTV.
Vipin’s father, Satyaveer Bhati, and brother Rohit Bhati, who were accused in the case, are still absconding.
Nikki Bhati, a 28-year-old makeup artist, was allegedly burnt to death by her in-laws over ₹36 lakh dowry. Her husband and mother-in-law had allegedly, according to witness statements by her sister Kanchan and son, poured a flammable substance on her and set her on fire. Kanchan filed an FIR that named all of her in-laws in a conspiracy of murder. The Noida police are investigating the case and looking for the absconding accused. Nikki’s family has performed her last rites after her post-mortem.