Noida dowry death horror: Vipin Bhati was earlier booked for assaulting another woman in 2024

Vipin Bhati

Vipin Bhati, who has been arrested for allegedly burning his wife, Nikki Payla, to death over dowry demands, had been booked in 2024 for ‘assaulting’ another woman, The Indian Express reported.

According to the officials, an FIR was registered on October 25, 2024, at Jarcha police station against Vipin and another man. They were booked under sections related to assault, breach of peace, and criminal intimidation. The case was filed after a woman alleged that the duo forced her into a car, beat her up, abused her, took away her phone, and even threatened to kill her.

The woman said she had once been in a relationship with Vipin and was unaware he was married. She recounted that she had married young but soon left her husband because of abuse and dowry harassment. Around January 2022, she claimed Vipin started liking her Instagram photos and messaging her.

“Since we belong to the same community, I replied to him and shared what I had gone through,” she was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. Soon, the two met in person. She eventually left her job at a café, moved out of her family home, and started living with Vipin in a one-room rented house.

“But he was abusive… he would beat me up. Every time I decided to leave, he would… convince me to stay,” she alleged.

By July 2023, Nikki, Vipin’s wife, and his family allegedly found out about this relationship. Police had to intervene, and the woman later moved to Haryana.

In September-October 2024, she alleged Vipin contacted her and asked her to return. “I refused. When I was heading to my village in October, I saw him and his friend. They forced me to get inside their car… I registered a complaint,” she added.

Police confirmed that a chargesheet was submitted in court. However, Vipin was not arrested because the charges were bailable. “We issued him a notice, as the sections applied were related to physical assault and did not require custodial arrest,” The Indian Express quoted Jarcha police station in-charge Sumnesh Kumar as saying.

Now, Vipin, along with his parents and brother, has been arrested in connection with Nikki’s death. His brother is married to Nikki’s elder sister, Kanchan, who filed the police complaint in this case.

According to Kanchan’s statement, around 5.30 pm on August 21, Vipin fought with Nikki. She alleged that Vipin’s mother handed him an inflammable liquid, which he then poured on Nikki before setting her on fire.

Meanwhile, a video that surfaced online showed Vipin carrying his severely burnt wife and putting her in a car to rush her to Fortis Hospital.

Hospital records show Nikki was brought to the Emergency ward around 6 pm by her father-in-law and other family members. The hospital memo mentioned she had suffered burns in what they were told was a ‘cylinder blast.’ Manoranjan Das, who was on duty at the Emergency ward, said she had severe burns on her chest. “We don’t treat burn injuries above 25 per cent. By 8 pm, she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital,” Das said. Nikki, however, died on the way.

Previous disputes

This was not the first time Vipin and Nikki’s marriage had hit trouble. In February, the two had a fight at the beauty parlour Nikki ran with her sister. Investigating Officer Dharmendra Shukla said police received a call from a client who was present during the scuffle.

“Vipin had come there demanding money from Nikki. An argument broke out, and the client was also injured in the scuffle,” Shukla said. The matter was later settled within the family, and no official complaint was filed. The parlour shut down after that incident, The Indian Express reported.