The first bail application was filed on Wednesday in the alleged murder of 28-year-old Nikki Bhati, nearly a week after police filed a chargesheet on charges of murder.
In August, Nikki was rushed to a private hospital in Greater Noida with severe burn injuries, from where doctors referred her to a hospital in Delhi, where she was declared brought dead. Following the incident, Nikki’s family made a series of allegations against her husband’s family, including that the demand for dowry, mental harassment, objections over the use of social media and assault, which hit national headlines.
On November 22, police booked Nikki’s husband Vipin Bhati, whom she had married in 2016, brother-in-law Rohit, father-in-law Satveer, and mother-in-law Daya on charges of murder, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal conspiracy, and later arrested them from Greater Noida.
On Wednesday, Vipin Bhati’s counsel Manoj Bhati told HT, “We have applied for the first bail for Vipin Bhati’s brother Rohit Bhati at the Sessions Court on Wednesday as he was not present at the spot when the incident took place. Police themselves attached call detail record (CDR) evidence in the chargesheet that he was somewhere else when the incident unfolded in Sirsa village, Greater Noida.”
“Police also failed to prove the dowry allegation that surfaced on the very first day. We will produce evidence in the court that his brother is falsely implicated in the case,” the counsel added.
In their 173-page chargesheet, police said that Vipin was the prime suspect in the case and was the one who set Nikki on fire.
Police had recorded the statements of 43 people, including family members, hospital staff and neighbours. The chargesheet said the statements of Nikki’s sister and son were considered “incontrovertible evidence”.
“Their son, 6, who was doing homework in the room, is the prime eyewitness in the case. Apart from him, Nikki’s sister Kanchan (who was also married in the same family) was also there, who then spotted her coming down the stairs while burning. In such a situation, the statements of Kanchan and Nikki’s son about their presence at the scene of the incident are incontrovertible evidence,” police said in the chargesheet.
The chargesheet further said, “Even during the investigation, it has not been confirmed that either party demanded dowry” and that the dispute began over a beauty parlour run by the two sisters and Vipin’s friendships with other women.
After scanning CCTV footage during the investigation, police also found that father-in-law Satveer and mother-in-law Daya were not at home at the time of the incident. They further found that Rohit’s mobile location was near Sirsa toll plaza.
“Except Vipin, no one was present at the home, but all of them (in-laws) were mentally harassing her, due to which both the sisters left home in the past as well,” the chargesheet said.
According to police, both sisters Nikki and Kanchan used to run a beauty parlour at their Sirsa home, which they promoted via social media. The in-laws objected to it and it turned into a big dispute as a result of which the two had left the home in the past. They eventually returned and promised not to use it. However, the dispute resurfaced when the two began using social media again.