A jobless techie in Bengaluru shot dead his estranged wife on Tuesday evening when she was on her way back home.

The deceased has been identified as Bhuvaneswari, 39, an assistant manager with a leading public sector bank. The husband, Balamurugan, waited outside her bank, followed her before firing four rounds from behind.

The police suspect that the motive behind the killing could be the divorce notice Bhuvaneshwari sent him a week ago. Software engineer Balamurugan, 40, has been unemployed for the last four years. Bhuvaneshwari was working with the Basaveshwara Nagar branch of the Union Bank of India.

The couple from Salem in Tamil Nadu got married in 2011 and moved to Bengaluru in 2018 after Balamurugan joined a software company at Whitefield. Due to marital discord, the couple started to live separately about one and a half years ago.

Bhuvaneshwari had been living in a rented house in Rajaji Nagar with her 12-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter. The police said Balamurugan was suspicious of Bhuvaneshwari having an affair, which led to frequent arguments.

“Bhuvaneshwari sent the divorce notice last week, which triggered the attack against her by Balamurugan. He allegedly traced her movements and waited for her outside the bank. The attack happened around 6.30pm. He fired four rounds, injuring her grievously,” said the Magadi Road police.

Bhuvaneshwari succumbed to her wounds at the nearby Shanbhag Hospital. Within a few minutes of the murder, Balamurugan walked into the Magadi Road police station and confessed to the crime. He has been arrested, and the police are investigating the source of the gun Balamurugan used.

According to the police, the woman had moved from the Whitefield branch of the bank and shifted her residence with her two children almost six months ago. But Balamurugan traced her whereabouts and moved in closer to her new house. Bhuvaneshwari was, however, unaware of this. The police have informed her parents in Salem about the murder.

S. Girish, deputy commissioner of police for the west division of Bengaluru City police, said the accused claimed to have fired five rounds, but the police had recovered four empty cartridges from the spot.