BENGALURU: The Vanitha Sahayavani (women’s helpline) of the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) had to deal with a bizarre case recently: A 50-year-old man with rashes all over his body claimed that his wife, a PhD holder in

, had created a deadly pathogen and was poisoning him.

The woman, however, has accused him of domestic abuse and torture.

Counsellors at the Women’s Cell at the police commissionerate were taken aback when Devesh (name changed), a resident of Uttarahalli, recently arrived for counselling and took off his shirt to reveal severe rashes and boils all over his body and face.

“He claimed that his 45-year-old wife, who is well-versed in chemistry, had created some fungus which she had mixed with his food and given to him, his 81-year-old mother and her caretaker. All three developed an allergy and are suffering,” said a senior counsellor at Sahayavani, dealing with the case.

It all began with the woman Rupa (name changed), a professor with detailed knowledge of Chemistry, approaching the helpline in August, and accusing her second husband Devesh of abuse. Rupa, a divorcee, married Devesh, a widower, in mid-2017, after a match on a matrimonial website. The couple tied the knot and Rupa’s son from her first marriage moved in with them in Bengaluru.

Things started turning sour in early 2018 as Devesh was allegedly more concerned about his ailing mother, and ill-treated Rupa. “She remains very insecure as it is her second marriage and the couple has some misunderstandings. She said he physically and mentally tormented her, and wanted to divorce him. But she also wants to make the relationship work, and approached Sahayavani for help,” the counsellor added.

Things took another twist when Devesh was summoned for a counselling session recently where he showed his body condition to the counselling staff, and expressed fear of living with her. “He claims she often develops some fungus and bacteria at home and saves it in the refrigerator. He strongly believes she mixed some pathogen she had developed in food, and gave it to him, his mother and her caretaker, resulting in rashes. Rupa refuted this but admitted to have created some fungus at home for educational purposes,” the woman counsellor said.

According to city dermatologist Anil Abraham, it is possible for a person with adequate knowledge of organic chemistry to create a fungus, but not a pathogen. “I think in this particular case, the husband is overreacting and imagining things. Most bacteria or fungus, when cooked in food, usually loses its potency. But if the person is an expert in chemistry there is a possibility of creating a hazardous component,” Abraham added.

BLACK MAGIC TOO

This is not all. Devesh told counsellors that his wife practices black magic, conducts scientific tests at home and produces paper cuttings of various voodoo procedures, which he claimed to have recovered from her room.

While Rupa wants to settle their differences and continue with her married life, the man has told counsellors that he is petrified and probably dying a slow death because of her pathogen poisoning. Vanitha Sahayavani personnel are trying to settle their differences and make the couple a happy twosome again.