In Attibele near Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, 37-year-old mother Vidya passed away after battling multi-organ failure caused by alleged mercury poisoning over a period of nine months. According to Vidya's video statement recorded at Victoria Hospital shortly before her death, her husband, Basava Raju M, allegedly injected mercury into her right thigh on the night of February 26, 2025, after behaving unusually sweet the evening prior. Vidya stated that she woke up with excruciating pain and puncture marks, initially trying to suppress the pain to care for her 4-year-old child and perform household chores. When the pain became unbearable, she sought medical care, where blood tests at Oxford Hospital revealed heavy metal mercury toxicity. Before her death, Vidya alleged years of ongoing domestic abuse, physical violence, dowry harassment, and mental torture by her husband and father-in-law, Mariswamachari, who reportedly called her 'mental' and locked her in rooms. Police had previously arrested Basava Raju M on murder charges under BNS 109/1, but he was released on bail due to lack of immediate physical evidence. Following Vidya's death, police registered upgraded charges under BNS Section 85 (cruelty by husband/relatives), Section 80 (dowry death/harassment), and Section 109/1 (murder), while awaiting final forensic lab and post-mortem reports to take further legal action.
Country: India
State/Province: Karnataka, India
City/Region: Attibele
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Married
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Incident Date: Feb. 26, 2025
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2025-02-26
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English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
Biwi घर लाई कम दहेज,Pati और ससुर ने रात में बेहोश कर Bahu को लगाया Mercury Injection,Kidney हुई Fail
Domestic Violence
The case fits a classic escalating domestic abuse and dowry harassment pattern, where persistent verbal, physical, and psychological degradation culminated in alleged lethal covert violence. The victim described a history of routine domestic battery, confinement, gaslighting, and humiliation by her husband and father-in-law. On the eve of the alleged assault, a sudden shift to affectionate behavior served as cover before mercury was covertly injected into her thigh while she slept. The victim's initial hesitation to report the injury due to childcare responsibilities allowed systemic organ damage to progress before medical intervention could occur.
Police initially registered a case under BNS Section 109/1 (murder/attempted murder) and arrested Basava Raju M, but he obtained bail due to insufficient initial direct evidence. Following Vidya's dying declaration and subsequent death after 9 months of medical treatment, law enforcement invoked BNS Section 85 (cruelty by husband or in-laws) and Section 80 (dowry death). Investigators are awaiting the formal forensic science laboratory (FSL) report and post-mortem examination results to re-arrest the accused and proceed with court prosecution.
Initial confusion arose because the victim presented with unexplained severe leg pain and attempted to manage household duties for days without realizing heavy metal poisoning had occurred. Furthermore, the accused husband and father-in-law claimed that Vidya was mentally unstable and fabricated her claims, creating conflicting narratives during the initial investigation.
According to the victim's dying declaration, after experiencing long-term physical abuse and dowry harassment, her husband changed his behavior to appear sweet on February 25, 2025. On the night of February 26, 2025, she was allegedly injected with elemental mercury in her thigh while sleeping. Pain escalated over seven to eight days until she visited Attibele Government Hospital, which referred her to Oxford Hospital in Bengaluru. Blood tests confirmed toxic mercury levels, leading to multi-organ failure and kidney dialysis. Transferred to Victoria Hospital, she recorded a video statement detailing the abuse before succumbing nine months later.
The presence of chronic domestic violence, dowry demands, enforced isolation, and degrading gaslighting behavior indicated high risk. The abrupt behavioral change from hostility to artificial warmth was an immediate red flag preceding a severe physical assault. The use of toxic chemical injection reflects extreme lethality risk.
Covert administration of heavy metals or poisons can masquerade as unexplained medical conditions, leading to delayed legal and medical intervention. Victims of severe domestic abuse often suppress early physical symptoms to maintain household continuity and shield children. Dying declarations recorded on video serve as vital evidence in domestic crime investigations when physical forensic reports are pending.
Persistent physical violence, confinement in rooms, verbal insults labeling the victim 'mental', ongoing dowry demands, and a sudden, uncharacteristic shift to sweet behavior by the husband on the night before the incident.
A distinct sharp puncture mark on the victim's right thigh accompanied by unexplained severe leg pain, followed by laboratory blood test results at Oxford Hospital confirming high mercury concentration in her bloodstream.
Medical diagnostic lab reports establishing mercury toxicosis, multi-organ failure medical records, dialysis logs spanning nine months, and the victim's official video statement / dying declaration recorded before police at Victoria Hospital.
In her recorded dying declaration, Vidya stated that her husband and father-in-law routinely abused her, locked her in a room, and called her crazy, but she remained silent for the sake of her 4-year-old child. She detailed how her husband acted unusually sweet on February 25 before she woke up on February 26 with severe pain from an injection mark on her thigh.
Initially investigated as an illness and later an attempted murder charge where the suspect received bail, the case escalated to a full dowry death and murder investigation after Vidya released her dying statement and passed away from multi-organ failure.
The exact source and mechanism by which the suspect acquired restricted elemental mercury, and the final forensic laboratory post-mortem confirmation required for formal re-arrest and trial proceedings.