Bengaluru: Shocking details have emerged in the case of a 28-year-old Bengaluru woman who died after months of battling mercury poisoning. In her dying declaration, the woman, Vidya, accused her husband and father-in-law of injecting mercury into her body with the intention to kill her. She also told police that a couple employed as lab technicians had supplied her husband with chloroform, syringes and the toxic metal.
Vidya succumbed in November after nine months of treatment across multiple hospitals, leaving behind a four-year-old child. Her statement has become a key piece of evidence in what police are calling one of the most disturbing domestic violence cases in recent years.
Mercury allegedly injected while she was unconscious
According to her statement, Vidya lost consciousness on the night of 26 February and only woke up the next evening. Upon regaining consciousness, she felt excruciating pain in her right thigh and found her leg severely swollen. She struggled to walk and grew suspicious that something had been injected into her body.
She first sought treatment at Attibele Government Hospital on 7 March, where her condition prompted doctors to refer her to Oxford Hospital. Test results indicated the presence of mercury in her bloodstream, following which doctors performed surgery and sent samples for confirmation. The lab reports verified mercury poisoning.
Lab technicians allegedly supplied mercury and chloroform
In a video recording given as her statement, Vidya said her husband had sourced the toxic substances from a couple working at SLN Diagnostic Centre.
“There was a lab called SLN Diagnostic Centre. A couple worked there as lab technicians. I don’t recall the husband’s name. The wife was named Swetha. They gave my husband chloroform, syringes and mercury,” Vidya told investigators.
Police sources said they are verifying the role of the technicians and whether the substances were stolen or procured through illegal channels.
Harassment, confinement and abuse
Vidya detailed long-term domestic harassment before the alleged poisoning. She said her husband, Basavaraj, repeatedly called her “mad”, locked her inside their home for long hours and refused to take her to social gatherings or relatives’ houses. She accused both her husband and father-in-law, Mariswamachari, of humiliation, neglect and routine emotional abuse.
Her declaration stated that the poisoning was a culmination of this ongoing harassment.
Nine months of treatment, organ damage proved fatal
After the poisoning diagnosis, Vidya underwent extensive treatment for more than a month before being moved to Victoria Hospital. Doctors told her the mercury had already spread across her body, damaging multiple organs, including her kidneys. She was placed on dialysis but failed to show improvement.
Despite efforts by the medical team, Vidya died in November, nearly nine months after the incident.
Police investigation continues
Police have registered a case against Basavaraj, his father and others whose names surfaced in Vidya’s statement. Investigators are examining the supply of mercury, the involvement of the technicians and the timeline of events leading to the poisoning.
Officials said that the dying declaration, medical evidence and witness testimonies are being consolidated to build a strong chargesheet.
A broader issue of domestic violence
Women’s rights groups in Bengaluru have condemned the incident, stating that it reflects the continuing vulnerability of women trapped in abusive households. They have demanded stringent action against those responsible and better awareness about early reporting of domestic violence.
The police have urged the public to report signs of physical or psychological abuse at the earliest, emphasising that delayed intervention can lead to irreversible harm, as in Vidya’s case.