42 Years In Coma After Being Raped And Strangled With Chains, Indian Nurse Aruna Shanbaug Dies

An Indian nurse, who was raped in her prime and left for dead, has finally found peace, in death. Having survived the nightmare, she was in a vegetative state for an astounding 42 years, before pneumonia freed her from the clutches of her motionless body.

Aruna Shanbaug was 25-years-old and a budding and enthusiastic nurse, when she was brutally attacked by a ward attendant in an Mumbai hospital where she worked. Following the rape, she was strangled in an attempt to end her life, but she survived. However, Aruna was left with severe brain damage and had been paralyzed since 1973.

For an astounding duration of 42 years, Aruna was kept alive by her fellow nurses, but she developed pneumonia six days ago and couldn’t recover, confirmed the hospital authorities.

“Ms. Shanbaug died at 08:30am on Monday. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and put on ventilator support.”

Though the nurse survived for so many years, her case sparked a heated debate about revision in India’s euthanasia or mercy-killing laws. Though the case reached the apex court, the Supreme Court of India rejected a plea filed on behalf of Aruna. Unable to take her own life, Aruna was fed through her nose.

Though rape cases are quite common in India, Aruna’s plight was beyond words. Not only was she denied the right to end her life wrought with countless hours of internal struggle, her tormentor wasn’t even prosecuted due the archaic laws of India.

The nurse was attacked by a KEM hospital cleaner, who strangled her with metal chains and left her to die on 27 November 1973. Shockingly, Ms. Shanbaug’s assailant, Sohanlal Bharta Walmiki, was not even charged for raping her since sodomy was not considered rape under Indian laws at the time. Shockingly, he was merely charged for theft and attempted murder. He walked a free man, after serving a seven-year sentence.

Though Aruna didn’t have any relatives, she was nursed on a daily basis by the nurses who saw the will to survive in her. It is said, each of the nurse that has worked in the KEM, has devoted a part of her time to Aruna.

India doesn’t have any laws on euthanasia and many strongly feel the need for a debate. Allowing one to take his or her own life is still considered suicide and surprisingly, the victim is liable for arrest and subsequent prosecution. As for rape cases, the situation is equally worse.

[Update] It appears two relatives are fighting with the hospital authorities to perform the last rites.

[Image Credit | Press Trust of India]