Goa, Aug. 26 -- When 26-year-old Nikki Bhati collapsed in flames outside her Noida home on August 21, it was the culmination of years of abuse and dowry harassment. Married at 18 to Vipin Bhati, Nikki had lived through years of financial and physical torture-violence that now stands exposed with her brutal killing.

This was not Vipin's first brush with violence. In 2024, he was accused of assault by another woman with whom he was allegedly in a relationship while married to Nikki. The confrontation turned uglier when Nikki and her sister caught them together. In an attempt to prove himself "innocent," Vipin allegedly thrashed the woman, who then filed a police complaint.

Nikki's final hours were captured on phone video by her sister Kan...