Key Points

She said the incident reflects the "ancient" mindset of society, which continues to treat daughters as a "burden" and sons as "insurance."

"As long as our society considers its son as its insurance, every parent will think, 'My son is my life insurance, and my daughter is my liability, I should get rid of her as soon as possible'. People think their son is their life insurance, and after marriage, he will bring the dowry," Bedi told IANS.

"As long as our society considers its sons as life insurance and a means of bringing dowry and getting their daughters married as soon as possible, this (dowry murder cases) will go on. This is the filthy and ancient mindset of our country. In those times, people also used to think of their daughters as a burden. This needs to be stopped," she added.

The case has drawn widespread wrath after Nikki's family claimed she had faced years of abuse for not meeting the dowry demands of her husband's family since her marriage in 2016.

Despite giving a Scorpio SUV, a motorcycle, and gold jewellery to her in-laws, the demands escalated to Rs 36 lakh in cash and a luxury car.

So far, police have arrested four individuals -- Nikki's husband, Vipin Bhati, brother-in-law, Rohit Bhati, mother-in-law, Daya Bhati, and father-in-law, Satveer Bhati -- in connection with the crime.

The incident came to light on Thursday night after Fortis Hospital informed police that a severely burnt woman had been admitted. She was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital due to her critical condition, but died on the way.

Nikki's elder sister, Kanchan, who is married to Rohit Bhati, said that Nikki was murdered because she could not fulfil the in-laws' demand of Rs 36 lakh as dowry.

Kanchan also said she herself was tortured and beaten for dowry and witnessed her sister being set ablaze.

Shocking videos have surfaced showing Nikki's husband and mother-in-law dragging her by the hair and thrashing her. Another disturbing clip shows her sitting helplessly on the floor with severe burn injuries.

Neighbours rushed her to Fortis Hospital, but she could not survive.

The most chilling testimony came from Nikki's young son, who witnessed the horror.

"They first put something on mumma. Then they slapped her. After this, they set her on fire using a lighter," her son recalled.

When asked directly by reporters, he nodded to confirm that it was his father who killed her.

- IANS