‘Why did you leave me? World is calling me killer’: Hours before arrest, man fakes grief on Instagram after killing wife over dowry in Greater Noida

NEW DELHI: Hours before his arrest for the alleged murder of his wife, 26-year-old Nikki, the accused, Vipin, posted a late-night Instagram story that appeared to frame her death as a suicide, despite a video showing him assaulting her and mounting evidence that she was set on fire.

He has since said the world is calling him a killer because "she left him".The emotional post, set to a mournful Hindi song, was shared around 1 am on Saturday — just hours before police took him into custody. "Why didn't you tell me what had happened? Why did you leave me? Why did you do this? The world is calling me a killer, Nikki," Vipin wrote on his Instagram story. His profile describes him as an advocate.

In a follow-up post, he added: "'Mere saath bahut galat ho raha hai tere jaane ke baad' (I am being wronged since you left)."Another Instagram story featured a video of Vipin and Nikki smiling, captioned: "I am devastated ('main barbaad ho gaya'). I am left with nothing (ab kuch nhi bacha)."However, police say Nikki was the victim of a brutal dowry-related assault. On the night of August 21, she was allegedly beaten, doused with an inflammable substance, and set on fire by Vipin in front of her sister and son at their home in Sirsa village, Greater Noida.

She succumbed to her injuries while being transferred from Fortis Hospital to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. A murder case was filed at Kasna police station based on a complaint from Nikki’s elder sister, Kanchan.Sisters married into the same familyBoth sisters were married into the same family in 2016 — Nikki to Vipin, and Kanchan to Vipin’s brother Rohit. Kanchan alleged the family had already given a Scorpio car and other valuables at the time of marriage, but the in-laws kept demanding Rs 36 lakh more.

Another car was later provided, but the harassment didn’t stop."They tortured Nikki regularly, and when I tried to intervene, they beat me too — sometimes even in front of our children," Kanchan told police.She claimed that Vipin, unemployed and addicted to alcohol, would frequently assault Nikki. On August 21, she alleged, he hit Nikki on her neck, then poured a flammable liquid on her and set her ablaze.Child witness, video evidenceNikki's six-year-old son, who witnessed the attack, told police: "Meri mumma ke upar kuch dala, fir unko chanta mara fir lighter se aag laga di."Two videos recorded by Kanchan have surfaced online. One shows a man and woman dragging Nikki by her hair. The other captures her limping down the stairs, visibly injured and partially burned."We were beaten and tortured for the last many days for dowry. They carried out atrocities against my sister,” Kanchan said, holding Nikki’s son in her arms while speaking to the press. She further alleged that the in-laws wanted Nikki gone so that Vipin could remarry.FIR and ArrestGreater Noida ADCP Sudhir Kumar said police received a memo from Fortis Hospital and launched an investigation immediately. Nikki was declared dead before the police team could reach Safdarjung Hospital.The FIR names Vipin, his brother Rohit, and their parents — Daya and Satveer — under BNS Sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy). Dowry charges under BNS Section 80 have not yet been added.“Vipin has been arrested and teams have been formed to apprehend the remaining accused. They will be arrested soon,” ADCP Kumar said.The woman’s last rites were performed after the post-mortem. Police say investigations are ongoing and arrests of the absconding family members are expected soon.(With agency inputs)