BENGALURU: A woman shot her husband as he drove their SUV down Hosur Road around 5pm on Friday. As the man, shot thrice in his abdomen, stumbled out and jumped into a BMTC bus to escape, she took the wheel of the SUV and chased down the bus.

Hamsa managed to waylay the bus, hopped on in search of her husband, and attacked him again. Critically injured, Sairam MR, 53, was saved as passengers apprehended her and handed her over to police.

They rushed Sairam to Sparsh Hospital, Bommanahalli, where doctors treating him said he has suffered multiple bullet wounds in his abdomen.

Police arrested Hamsa, 48, and are interrogating her.

The entire drama took place on Bengaluru’s bustling Hosur Road in Veerasandra, in full public view.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that the couple, married for over two decades, had a rocky relationship. On Friday evening, on their way back from Hosur in Tamil Nadu, they had stopped for lunch by the highway, where they had also consumed alcohol.

“The couple had several problems in their marriage and according to the wife, an argument started between them and Sairam allegedly hit Hamsa,” said a senior police officer.

Enraged, Hamsa pulled out a pistol kept in the car and shot him thrice, and Sairam made his desperate bid to escape, police said.

Medical director of Sparsh Hospital Dr Sharan Patil told TOI: “Sairam underwent surgery for multiple wounds in his abdomen. Doctors are trying to stop the bleeding, which is the challenge now. Once the bleeding stops, we will be able to start treatment.”

Hamsa was reportedly inebriated. “During the initial questioning, she made several contradictory statements. So we are waiting for her to sober down, before we can get more information from her about what transpired between them that led to the shooting,” said a senior officer.

According to officers, she kept insisting that she shot Sairam because he hit her during an argument and she felt humiliated. “We are still unclear about the problem that led to the argument, but have learnt that there were several issues in their marriage for many years now,” the officer added.

Sairam owns a private security firm. Prima facie, the pistol used in the shooting appears to be a licensed one. Hamsa told police that the weapon was kept loaded in the vehicle by her husband. The couple has a teenage daughter and are residents of HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

