Indian nurse, whose rape changed euthanasia laws, dies after 42 years in coma

Aruna Shanbaug, 67, suffered severe brain damage when she was sodomized and strangled with a metal chain by a hospital worker in 1973. The man, a ward attendant, left her to die in the hospital’s basement, where she was found 11 hours later. The case came to national attention in 2009 when activist and author Pinki Virani, who had written a book about Shanbaug, appealed to India’s top court for passive euthanasia.

My deepest condolences on the sad demise of Aruna Shanbaug. It was painful to see her suffering. I salute the humanity shown by KEM nurses.

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra state, the capital of which is Mumbai.

Asia-Pacific Aruna Shanbaug