Shankar Kamble, a man living in the western Indian state of Gujarat, was arrested for allegedly injecting his ex-wife with HIV-positive blood.

The India Times says the police report showed the couple was married for over a decade before Mrs. Kamble became suspicious of her husband’s character. They legally divorced a few months ago, but Kamble struggled to accept the separation.

After multiple failed attempts at a reunion, Kamble convinced his ex-wife to meet with him, where she alleges he took her to an isolated location and made another request for their reunion. When she refused, Kamble hugged her, then pulled out a syringe he had hiding in his pocket and injected her with HIV-positive blood.

The woman passed out after the injection and went to the police as soon as she came to her senses. They arrested Kamble the next day, where he reportedly told the police his planned attack was inspired by a TV show.

As to the blood, Kamble smuggled it from the HIV ward of a hospital. There, he collected the blood from a patient under the false pretense of being a hospital staff there to collect the sample for testing.

The woman injected with the blood has been admitted to the hospital and is being monitored. It is unknown at this time if the woman has contracted HIV but in similar cases, post-exposure drug treatments can sometimes prevent seroconversion.

This is one of two similar instances in India during December of 2022. In the south-eastern coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, a man allegedly had someone inject his pregnant wife with HIV-positive blood to find an excuse to divorce her. He took her to a “doctor” under the guise that the injection would ensure good health during her pregnancy.

The husband was arrested, and the pregnant woman’s results came back HIV-positive. However, there are now medical interventions that can help prevent children from being born with HIV even when the mother is positive.