Aruna Shanbaug

Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug (1 June 1948 – 18 May 2015) was an Indian nurse who was at the center of attention in a court case on euthanasia after spending 42 years in a coma after being raped and strangled.

Early life
Shanbaug was born in 1948 at Haldipur, Uttar Kannada, Karnataka. She worked as a nurse at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) in Mumbai. At the time of the attack, she was engaged to a doctor at the same hospital.

Attack
In 1973, while working as a junior nurse at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Shanbaug was anally raped then strangled by a ward boy, Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki. She remained in a vegetative state following the assault.

Court case
On 24 January 2011, after she had been in this state for 37 years, the Supreme Court of India responded to the plea for euthanasia filed by Aruna's friend, journalist Pinki Virani, by setting up medical experts to test her.

The court rejected the petition on 7 March 2011. However, in its landmark opinion, it allowed passive euthanasia in India.

Death
Shanbaug died from pneumonia on 18 May 2015 after being in a persistent vegetative state for nearly 42 years.

References

Other websites
Never Ending Trauma Of Innocent Aruna!! 
Court ruling, Aruna Shanbaug vs. Union of India, March 7, 2011 at Supreme Court of India
Pinki Virani's Interview - June 13, 2008 

Category:1948 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:2010s crimes in India
Category:Sexual abuse victims
Category:Deaths from pneumonia
Category:People from Karnataka
Category:Infectious disease deaths in India
Category:Rape in India