BENGALURU: In a chilling turn of events in Attibele, south Bengaluru, a young mother accused her husband of slowly poisoning her — by injecting mercury into her body — just hours before she died. Her pre-death statement, recorded from her hospital bed, has now become the focal point of the investigation.Vidya A, a resident of Tilaknagar and mother of a four-year-old boy, gave the statement to Attibele police from her hospital bed at Victoria Hospital Sunday. By Monday morning, she was dead. Police said an autopsy has been done, but the cause of death is not yet known. The forensic laboratory report is awaited, cops said.Following her final statement, police initially registered an attempt-to-murder case on Nov 23 under Section 109 of the BNS. Bengaluru Rural SP CK Baba confirmed that the case is now being upgraded to a dowry death, citing the harassment Vidya reportedly endured.
“We have sent viscera samples to the forensic science laboratory to test for the presence of mercury in the deceased’s body. Based on the FSL report and the opinion of the doctor who conducted the postmortem, we will continue the investigation,” said a police official. According to Vidya’s complaint, she suspected that she had been injected with something on the night of Feb 26.Video recorded by copsIn a video recording made for police, Vidya said she was surprised by her businessman husband Basavaraju’s unusual display of affection that night, but lost consciousness shortly afterward.She later stated: “I woke up on the evening of Feb 27 and found that something had been injected into my right thigh. Unable to bear the pain, I visited Attibele govt hospital on March 7, where I was advised to go to Oxford Hospital. After undergoing several tests, I was told there was mercury in my body. I spent one-and-a-half months there as an inpatient before being shifted to Victoria Hospital. Doctors told me 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 right thigh.”Police said the statements from Vidya’s parents, who live in Attibele, will also be recorded.
