The family of the woman who was shot dead by her husband early Monday on a road in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri has alleged that she has been subjected to dowry harassment and abuse since her marriage in 2023.
The victim is called Priyanka Bhatti She was shot dead by her husband on the roadThis was just hours after she celebrated her birthday at midnight. Priyanka was a teacher at Prudence School in Ashok Vihar.
The accused is her husband Manish Bhatti, a Delhi Police constable working with the Anti-Car Theft Squad in the Eastern Province. Police said he is currently on the run, HT has learnt.
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The family claims pressure on dowry
Priyanka’s younger brother, Nitin, a constable with the Uttar Pradesh police, said his brother-in-law would often abuse and assault his sister over dowry.
“He was teasing my sister and telling her that his sister-in-law brought her $70 thousand dowry, while we could not even manage it $15 lakh. We had so many expectations when the wedding date was set. One of my sisters also works in Delhi Police, and we were happy that Priyanka was married to a cop. “We never knew this would happen,” he said, as HT reported earlier.
He said that Priyanka returned to her parents’ home about a year after her wedding to Manish, due to pressure and assault. She stayed there for about 9 months and then returned with her husband.
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“Manish regularly assaulted her, while her in-laws harassed her over dowry. She stayed with us for about nine months. They kept demanding her $25 lakh. We filed an FIR with Delhi Police for dowry harassment and assault, but Manish later apologized and my sister forgave him. But he continued to harass and abuse her, and a case was registered at Madhu Vihar police station in 2024.
“MIL wanted her full salary.”
He further claimed that Priyanka’s mother-in-law would ask her to hand over her entire salary and also harassed her for not having a child. Nitin said he called his sister on her birthday night to congratulate her and asked if she had any plans, to which she replied: “Nothing.”
“We wished she would come home again. We always supported her. My sister was educated. She completed her BTech, CTech and teacher training. He shot her on her birthday and left her to die,” he said.
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What did the police say?
According to police, the couple often quarreled over dowry and other domestic issues. Investigators suspect that Manish was under the influence of alcohol on Sunday night when he returned home from work and got into an argument with his wife before assaulting her.
A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said: “We are still trying to ascertain the exact sequence of events. The preliminary investigation indicates that the accused was taking his wife to get medicines or treat her injuries at the hospital, but they stopped midway and argued again on the road. The woman got out of the car. During the argument, the accused took out his gun and shot his wife in the chest. When she collapsed, he left her there and fled.”
“Initial questioning of neighbors revealed that the couple had been arguing frequently. Till Sunday night, the neighbors claimed to have heard an argument between the couple before they left the house in the middle of the night. We are now interrogating their family members,” the senior police officer said.
Issue reported by delivery boy
Police said they received information about the incident at around 3am from a delivery person who was passing through the area and saw the woman lying in a pool of blood.
“A police team took her to LBS Hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival,” Kumar said.
Police said Priyanka was shot in the chest at close range.
