In Greater Noida, a horrible episode of violence related to dowry has come to light. Nikki, a lady, was allegedly tortured, assaulted, and set on fire by her husband and in-laws. Her tragedy has made people angry and brought attention to the ongoing problem of dowry harassment in India.
Kanchan, Nikki’s older sister and also married into the same family, says that Nikki had been a victim of dowry harassment for years before she married into the family in Sirsa village in 2016. Kanchan said that the torment started only six months after Nikki’s wedding, when her in-laws asked for ₹36 lakh in dowry.
The horrible thing happened on Thursday night. Kanchan, who had also been attacked for dowry earlier that night, told the story of how her sister was attacked. “That same night, they beat my sister up in front of me and the kids. “They threw some liquid on her and set her on fire in front of my eyes,” she continued, trying not to cry.
There are now disturbing videos of what happened. In one video, Nikki’s husband, Vipin, and another woman are shown pulling her hair and beating her. Other clips show Nikki walking down the stairs while on fire, with her body badly scorched. Her small son, who saw the attack, backed up what his sister said by saying, “They poured something on mumma, slapped her, and then set her on fire with a lighter.”
The family got Nikki to a hospital, and from there she was sent to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. But she died on the way.
After the event, the Greater Noida police opened a case based on Kanchan’s accusation. The husband, Vipin, is in jail. The police are now looking for the other people who were accused in the crime, such as the father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law.
This terrible tragedy is a sad reminder of the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 and the violence that women in India continue to experience because of dowries.