BENGALURU: A young mother from south Bengaluru alleged from her hospital bed that her husband had been poisoning her—injecting mercury into her body—just hours before she died. Her recorded statement, taken at Victoria Hospital, has now become central to the police investigation.
Vidya A, a Tilaknagar resident and mother of a four-year-old boy, gave her statement to Attibele police on Sunday. By Monday morning, she had succumbed to her condition. Police said an autopsy has been completed, but the exact cause of death will be confirmed only after the forensic laboratory report is received.
Initially, police registered an attempt-to-murder case on November 23 under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Bengaluru Rural SP C K Baba said the case is now being upgraded to a dowry death, citing allegations of harassment faced by Vidya.
“We have sent viscera samples to the forensic science laboratory to test for mercury. Further action will depend on the FSL findings and the postmortem doctor’s opinion,” a police official said.
‘I woke up and found something had been injected into my thigh’
In the video statement recorded for investigators, Vidya recounted that on the night of February 26, her businessman husband Basavaraju behaved with unusual affection before she suddenly lost consciousness.
She told police: “I woke up on the evening of February 27 and saw that something had been injected into my right thigh. The pain was unbearable.”
She said she first sought treatment at Attibele Government Hospital on March 7, where she was advised to go to Oxford Hospital. After multiple tests, she claimed doctors told her mercury had entered her system.
Vidya said she spent nearly six weeks as an inpatient before being shifted to Victoria Hospital. “Doctors told me the mercury had spread throughout my body, weakening my organs and damaging my kidneys. I had to undergo regular dialysis. My husband and father-in-law tortured me, calling me a mad woman. With the intention to murder, they injected mercury into my thigh,” she stated.
Police said they will also record statements from Vidya’s parents, who live in Attibele, as part of the continuing investigation.
