Bengaluru nurse in intensive care after machete and acid attack by estranged husband

A 26-year-old nurse is fighting for her life in a Bengaluru intensive care unit after her estranged husband tracked her down, threw acid at her, and attacked her with a machete in broad daylight.

The assault, which was captured on video, happened around 9.15 am on Thursday in JP Nagar, a commercial and residential area in south Bengaluru.

The victim, identified by police as Madhumita, had just stepped out of the private clinic where she works to get breakfast. Her husband, Venkatesan, was waiting nearby on a motorcycle, armed with a knife, a machete, and a bottle of corrosive liquid.

According to police, Venkatesan threw the liquid at Madhumita as she walked. She fled into the basement parking area of a nearby building, screaming for help, with her husband in close pursuit. He caught up with her and struck her multiple times with the machete.

Video footage of the incident shows a man in a motorcycle helmet striking the victim while she lies on the ground. Several onlookers gathered, some recording the attack on their mobile phones. While a few tried to deter the attacker by throwing stones at him, others hesitated to get closer, apparently fearing he would turn the machete on them.

How the suspect was apprehended

Venkatesan’s escape was cut short when a Bengaluru traffic police sub-inspector, stationed at a nearby signal, noticed the chaos. Officers intervened and detained him as he tried to flee the scene. He was handed over to the JP Nagar police and is currently in custody.

Madhumita remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of a nearby private hospital.

What led to the attack

The couple, who married three years ago in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, had been living apart for about a year following what police described as marital discord. Madhumita, who is originally from West Bengal, had been living in a paying guest accommodation in south Bengaluru and working at the clinic for the past 18 months. Venkatesan had recently relocated to Tamil Nadu for work, but police say he rode his motorcycle back to Bengaluru on Wednesday night specifically to target her.

Investigators are still working to determine the exact motive for the attack. They are also awaiting a chemical analysis from the Forensic Science Laboratory to identify the liquid used in the assault. Forensic officers collected samples from the scene to establish whether the fluid was industrial acid or a household floor-cleaning agent.

The JP Nagar police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and are continuing to question Venkatesan.