Greater Noida dowry death: Inflammable liquid, fresh video clips open up fresh angles
Noida, Aug 27 (PTI): The investigation into the suspected dowry death of Nikki Bhati has taken a new turn after the recovery of an inflammable substance from her room and the emergence of fresh video clips, prompting police to revisit the timeline of the August 21 incident, a senior officer said on Wednesday.
The officer, who is part of the probe, said the inflammable solution found in Nikki's room has been sent for forensic analysis.
Police are also collating and examining multiple short video clips, which are surfacing in the public domain in connection with the August 21 incident.
The new findings seem to mark a shift from earlier allegations that Nikki (26) was set on fire with a flammable liquid by her husband Vipin Bhati and his family.
Police will also re-examine the statement of Nikki's sister Kanchan, who shot a video of the alleged incident, lodged the FIR and claimed to have tried to intervene in the matter.
Kanchan is married to Nikki’s brother-in-law, Rohit Bhati.
Vipin, Rohit, Nikki’s father-in-law Satyavir and mother-in-law Daya have been arrested for the alleged dowry murder in Greater Noida last Thursday.
Vipin was shot in the leg on August 24 when he allegedly attempted to flee police custody.
"Fresh videos, including one showing the mother-in-law appearing to separate Nikki and Vipin during a fight, and another reportedly filmed by Kanchan in which a voice could be heard saying, 'Yeh kya kar liya (what have you done)’, have surfaced after initial questioning. Kanchan's statement will be re-examined," the officer said, adding that around a dozen statements from both families have been recorded so far.
Police are analysing CCTV camera footage showing Vipin standing outside his home minutes before the incident, besides probing a separate assault case registered against him last October in Greater Noida's Jarcha area.
That FIR was lodged against Vipin and his associate Tushar in October last year on charges of assaulting a 21-year-old woman named Preeti from the nearby Anandpur village.
The duo was also accused of forcibly taking away her phone and threatening to kill her. Additional DCP (Greater Noida), Sudheer Kumar, said a probe into that case is underway and action will be taken based on its findings.
Nikki was found with severe burn injuries at her home in Sirsa village on August 21. She died en route a Delhi hospital.
A memo from the private hospital where she was first admitted to mentioned she had "suffered severe burns in a gas cylinder explosion at home", and was brought there in a critical condition by Vipin’s cousin Devendra.
However, Nikki's elder sister Kanchan alleged in her FIR that Nikki was deliberately set ablaze by Vipin, his mother Daya, father Satveer, and brother Rohit after being beaten.
She alleged that Nikki faced persistent dowry harassment despite their 2016 marriage being solemnised "without dowry”, claiming that her family already gave a Scorpio SUV, a motorcycle and jewellery to the Bhati family, yet they were being pressured to shell out another Rs 36 lakh and a luxury car.
Vipin's cousin Devendra claimed that he took Nikki to the hospital along with Vipin's parents, and recalled her repeatedly asking for water and saying she felt suffocated. He also corroborated Vipin's presence at a local shop around the time of the incident.
Nikki and Kanchan's father, Bhikari Singh, has demanded "harshest punishment" for Vipin, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene in the matter.
He also rejected claims that social media activities of his daughters triggered the killing, insisting that reels "were not the reason”, and that he gave them Rs 1.5 lakh to open a beauty parlour to support themselves.
The FIR against the Bhatis was filed at the Kasna police station on August 22 under sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 61(2) (attempt to commit offences punishable with life imprisonment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz if US lifts its blockade and the war ends: officials
Cairo (AP): Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
The strait's closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertilizer, food and other basic goods.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran's proposal.
It came as Iran's foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It's unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Strait of Hormuz remains blocked
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Iran's ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.
Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely transit through the strait and reach global distribution points.
On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $108 per barrel, nearly 50 per cent higher than when the war began.
Iranian foreign minister holds talks as negotiations with US stall
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Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted fighting. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now,” Araghchi said in a video interview posted by IRNA.
It comes as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend. Instead, Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.
Over the weekend, Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Trump says Iran has offered a much better proposal
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Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.
He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
