This happened in Bombay but with a few change in circumstances it could have happened anywhere. It was November 1973. Aruna Shanbhag a 25 year old nurse from northern Karnataka working in the KEM hospital pulled up and castigated a contract worker and ward help named Sohanlal Walmiki for dereliction in his duty. Walmiki filled with rage sought revenge. One day when she went to the hospital basement to change into her uniform, he came from behind and choked her with a bicycle chain, cutting off blood flow to her brain and though intending to vaginally rape her, sodomized her instead, when he found out that she was in her menstrual cycle. Aruna as a result was left bleeding and unconscious and there was a hue and cry raised by the media and the public at this incident. The doctors of KEM hospital under pressure from their Dean covered up the anal rape and instead categorized it as merely rape. This was done by the Dean ostensibly to protect her in the circumstance of her impending marriage and to protect her social standing and honor. The police charged Walmiki with assault, rape and attempted murder and sentenced him to two counts of 7 years to run concurrently. After 6 years of imprisonment with one year for time served, he was set free and found himself another ward help job in a different hospital. Before that, he returned to Aruna's bed and tried to kill her again this time by breaking the supports and causing her to fall on the hard ground. She survived when a passing individual raised an alarm. Aruna did not die. If the doctors had provided proper details of the incident to the police, under Indian law, Walmiki would have been charged with 'unusual rape' (a term for sodomy or anal rape) which would have attracted a mandatory life sentence for him. Ever since the incident 39 years ago, Aruna has been in a vegetative state and has been caringly looked after by the nurses of KEM hospital who feed and give her the necessary medication. Her family has abandoned her. She is now 64 years old and besides normal aging, has shown neither improvement nor worsening of her physical state. A social activist Pinky Virani who had been affected by Aruna's plight for many years had filed a case that went up to the Supreme Court for allowing of euthanasia in this case. The nurses who were looking after Aruna were totally opposed to this. They wanted her to die naturally. The Indian public were equally divided on the matter and so was world opinion when BBC and foreign media including You Tube broadcasted the case. The Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that there was some brain activity still observed and disallowed euthanasia for her. However, the court let euthanasia remain on the table as a legal option for future cases coming before it. A strange decision. The nurses rejoiced, saying that if Aruna was of trouble and discomfort to anyone, it was only to them and they were quite willing to lovingly endure it. Aruna has suffered for 39 years. She shows no sign of life though some doctors say she cannot be without pain. She only screams occasionally, as if reliving that rape and strangulation endured on an early morning in November 1973. Her life has been spent in ruin. Walmiki continues to happily work in a Delhi hospital. Roland. Toronto. Roland Francis 416-453-3371 [email protected] Keep a sharp wit, an open mind, a caring heart.
