Mumbai KEM Nurse Aruna Shanbaug died after 42-years in coma

Aruna Shanbaug, the nurse of Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, died on 18 May 2015. She died after battling with coma for past 42-years following a sexual assault by a hospital ward boy.

66-year old Shanbaug was sexually assaulted on 27 November 1973 by a ward boy-cum-sweeper of the hospital, Sohanlal Bharta Valmiki, after throttling her with a dog chain. Since then, she was hospitalised in KEM hospital and was cared by hospital staff.

While hearing the Aruna Shanbaug case in March 2011, the Supreme Court of India rejected the mercy killing (euthanasia) petition for her. The petition was filed by former journalist and author Pinki Virani.

However, SC laid down guidelines for passive euthanasia instead of active euthanasia. Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life.

In 1998, a biography was written on Aruna by Pinki Virani which was titled Aruna’s Story. Duttakumar Desai wrote the Marathi play, Katha Arunachi which was staged under director Vinay Apte in 2002.

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