Mercury injection murder: Bengaluru man arrested after wife’s deathbed statement

Bengaluru: Attibele police have arrested a city-based businessman for allegedly killing his wife by injecting mercury into her body 10 months ago. The victim, Vidya M, who had been battling severe organ failure for months, died at Victoria Hospital on Tuesday, prompting the police to convert the case into dowry death.

A senior police officer said that during the interrogation, the 45-year-old accused Basavaraju M, said that his wife Vidya was mentally ill and the couple frequently quarreled over petty issues. However, he did not confess to injecting her with mercury as alleged. Based on a video statement recorded from Vidya's deathbed, he was arrested and handed over to judicial custody on Friday. The investigation officials are awaiting the final postmortem analysis report and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports on toxicology and mercury levels.

Vidya, married Basavaraju M. five years ago, leaves behind a four-year-old son. The duo had met through a matrimony site. Basavaraj was running an automobile shop on Sarjapur road.

In a video statement recorded from her deathbed, she had alleged that her husband frequently locked her inside their house and was body shaming her after delivery. She also stated that on the night of February 26, Basavaraju injected her right thigh while she was asleep. When she woke up the next evening in severe pain.

Vidya sought treatment on March 7 at the Attibele Government Hospital, from where she was referred to a private hospital. Medical examination revealed the presence of mercury in her body, following which her health deteriorated rapidly. Her kidneys were severely damaged, and she had been undergoing dialysis since March.

After her condition worsened, she was shifted to Victoria Hospital. Based on her medico-legal statement, the Attibele police had initially booked Basavaraju and his father Mariswamachar for cruelty and attempted murder under Sections 85 and 109(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Following Vidya’s death, police invoked Section 80 (dowry death) and arrested Basavaraju, while his father is currently being questioned.