NRP Desk
Lucknow: In a horrific case of domestic violence and dowry harassment, a woman was brutally assaulted and then set on fire by her husband and in-laws in the Kasna police station area of Greater Noida. The incident was witnessed by her young son, who saw his father and grandmother thrashing and then burning his mother alive. The deceased, identified as Nikki, was doused with inflammable material before being set ablaze, her family members alleged. Her little son, who witnessed the ordeal, recalled, “They first put something on mumma. Then they slapped her. After this, they set her on fire using a lighter.” When asked directly by reporters, he nodded to confirm that it was his father who killed her. The matter came to light on Thursday night after Fortis Hospital informed the police that a woman had been admitted with severe burn injuries. Doctors at Fortis referred her to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital due to her critical condition. However, she died on the way before receiving further treatment. Her elder sister Kanchan, who was also married into the same family, alleged that Nikki was murdered because she could not fulfil the in-laws’ demand for Rs 36 lakh as dowry. “We were harassed constantly. They kept saying they didn’t receive this or that during the wedding. They demanded Rs 36 lakh from our family,” she said. She said she herself had been tortured and beaten for dowry demands. “I was assaulted between 1.30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Thursday. They told me, ‘We got dowry for one, what about the other? You are better off dead. We will marry again’,” Kanchan added.
