Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 24 : A man accused of setting his wife on fire, who later succumbed to her injuries, was on Sunday brought to a hospital in Greater Noida for treatment after being shot in the leg during an encounter with Uttar Pradesh police.
The man, Vipin Bhati, has been accused of murdering his wife, Nikki, and also of allegedly beating up his wife.
The family of the deceased has alleged that Bhati and his parents frequently used to torture the woman for dowry.
Speaking to ANI from the hospital he was admitted to, the accused said that he is not guilty of the crime.
"I did not kill her. She died on her own," Bhati said.
When asked about allegations of him beating up his wife, Bhati said, "Husband and wife often have fights, it is very common..."
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased woman, Nikki Bhati held a protest outside the Kasana Police station today demanding justice.
The father of the deceased woman alleged that her in-laws killed her over their demand for dowry.
"Her mother-in-law poured kerosene while her husband set her on fire. They kept asking for dowry; now their demands have been met. I just married my daughter as per tradition. Their dowry demands have been met now that my daughter has died. They demanded a car and tortured my daughter for that."
He also accused the husband of domestic violence.
"That person is neither man nor human; he is a butcher. We once brought her home because of all this domestic violence, but because of societal pressure, they came and took her back on the promise of not repeating this. It continued. Now they have got what they wanted," he said.
The father of the victim said that she had 70 per cent burns and was pronounced dead at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
"My elder daughter called me up to inform me what had happened. We reached the hospital. These people had set her on fire and fled. Their neighbours took her to Fortis Hospital. When we reached, she had 70 per cent burns. They referred us to Safdarjung Hospital, citing their inability to treat her. We booked an ambulance and took her to Safdarjung Hospital, where she was pronounced dead."
"These monsters didn't think twice before doing this to someone's daughter. They did not think about how we educated her and got her married. Didn't it hurt them when they were setting someone's daughter on fire? They should be hanged... Both my daughters were married into the same family. My grandson has also told everyone how and what happened," he said.