After Rape And 42 Years Of Coma, Aruna Shanbaug Lost The Battle Against Life

A former nurse, Aruna Shanbaug died after 42 years of coma followed by her rape, in Mumbai’s state-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. She was brutally raped by a ward boy in 1973 and was strangled using a dog chain which left her blind and paralysed. The strangulation had cut off the blood and oxygen supply to her brain. The following timeline will walk you through the entire case.

 

27th November 1973

Aruna had a small fight with the ward boy, Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki as he was stealing the food meant for stray animals adopted by the hospital. When at the end of the day, she went to the basement to change, Walmiki raped her and strangled her using a dog’s chain. The brutality of the incident shocked the city.

28th November 1973

Walmiki was arrested.

29th November 1973

The attack left Aruna in a vegetative state, blind and paralysed.

 

1974

Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki was charged with attempt to murder and for stealing Aruna’s earrings, but not for rape. The police didn’t take into account, the fact that Aruna was sodomised. Valmiki received seven years of imprisonment which was reduced to six as a year was already served.

1980

Walmiki walked out of the jail. During the course, municipal body made two attempts to get Aruna out of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital as she was occupying a bed but the nurses protested against it.

2009

‘Aruna’s Story’ author, Pinki Virani moved the Supreme Court seeking to stop Aruna’s force feeding.

 

24th January 2011

Apex court formed a medical team to examine Aruna

February 2011

The report was submitted by the team saying ‘She meets all the criteria for being in a permanent vegetative state.’

2nd March 2011

Supreme Court reserved judgement

18th May 2015

Aruna Shanbaug died

She spent more than half of her life in a vegetative state but we salute King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital’s staff for standing by her and providing complete medical assistance throughout her life. Despite of being in coma for 42 years, she didn’t get bed sores or any kind of skin abnormality due to unhygienic environment.

May her soul rest in peace.

News Source: Times Of India

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