The brutal assault on a lady doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has sparked nationwide outrage. The investigation has been handed over to the CBI. A team from the CBI has already arrived in Kolkata. Meanwhile, Dr. Suvarna Goswami, Additional Secretary of the All India Government Doctors' Association, has made a sensational claim. According to this, the victim was gang-raped, and 151 grams of liquid was found in her private parts, suggesting involvement of more than one person. A similar cruelty happened 51 years ago at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
In that Mumbai hospital, 51 years ago, something eerily similar happened to what transpired at the Kolkata medical college. In Kolkata, a junior doctor was the victim, while in Mumbai, it was a nurse named Aruna Shanbaug. Aruna came to Mumbai from Karnataka in 1966 and started working as a nurse at King Edward Memorial Hospital. Soon after, she got engaged to a doctor from the same hospital. But then tragedy struck.
A Ward Boy Strangled Aruna with a Dog's Chain
Just a month before her wedding, on November 27, 1973, a ward boy named Sohanal Valmiki brutally assaulted and raped Aruna Shanbaug inside the hospital. Fearing he would be caught, he strangled her with a dog's chain and fled, thinking she was dead. Aruna survived but never fully recovered, slipping into a coma for 42 long years.
Court Denied Euthanasia for Aruna
During this period, some people took her case to court, demanding euthanasia for her. But the court refused. In March 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that Aruna must live and denied permission for euthanasia. Before the ruling, a medical board had examined her. After the doctors' report and the arguments from KEM Hospital nurses, on March 7, 2011, the Supreme Court did not permit euthanasia.
Source: aajtak
Aruna Lay Between Life and Death for 42 Years
Despite approving passive euthanasia, the court ordered to keep her alive. The court said that it was difficult to ascertain what Aruna wanted, but her gestures indicated a will to live. Good food or good behavior from the staff made her happy. Thus, for 42 years, she lay between life and death as if they were sleeping side by side.
A Mere 7-Year Sentence for Aruna's Assailant
After 42 years, death finally came to Aruna silently, as pneumonia claimed her. 42 years earlier, death had come for her but stayed away. Her assailant, Sohanal Lal, received just a 7-year sentence. He was released from jail in 1980. Upon release, he changed his name and found a job in a Delhi hospital. He eventually died as well.
Source: aajtak
Aruna's Assailant Said He Asked God for Forgiveness
Sohanal Lal expressed deep regret over what he did to Aruna. In an interview, he said, "I want to ask for forgiveness from Aruna didi and my God. I have given up eating meat, and I also stopped consuming alcohol and smoking. Before I went to jail, I had a daughter who died. She passed away because of my crime. For many years after my release, I did not touch my wife. 14 years later, my son was born."
Aruna: A Brilliant Student Who Secured Her First Job in 1971
Aruna Shanbaug had 10 siblings. She lost her father when she was just 10 years old, leaving the responsibility of the family on the children. Her elder siblings worked hard to educate Aruna, who had a passion for learning. After completing her primary education in her village, she moved to Mumbai for further studies. Staying with her elder sister, she pursued a nursing course. In 1971, she secured a job at King Edward Memorial Hospital.
