They don’t need any Delhi rape as reminder of how vulnerable women are as they have been attending to one such victim for the past 40 years.
Nurses at the civic-run KEM Hospital at Parel went about their duties as usual on Saturday when the Delhi gang-rape victim died. They don’t need any reminder of how vulnerable women are as they have been attending to one such victim for the past 40 years.
The victim, Aruna Shanbaug, was ironically, a nurse at KEM Hospital itself. She has been locked in a small room in Ward No 4 of the KEM Hospital and has been cooped up there ever since she was left brain-dead in 1973 after being choked with a dog chain and sexually assaulted by a sweeper, Sohanlal Walmiki, in the basement of the hospital.
After she was left abandoned by her family and fiance, the hospital took up the responsibility of taking care of her. The nurses firmly stood by Aruna and celebrate her birthday every single year. Though most nurses who worked with Aruna have retired or are on the verge of retiring, even interns at the hospital are aware of the brutal rape case that took place 40 years ago.
Dr Pragna Pai, former dean of KEM Hospital (1998-99), who had developed a close bond with Aruna during her tenure said, “The basement, where Aruna was sexually assaulted, was lying abandoned when I joined as the dean. I suspected that anti-social activities were being carried out there so I converted the basement into a changing room for security guards.”
“We also let relatives of outpatients of the Cardiac Surgery Department stay in a few rooms of the basement for a couple of days. By doing this, the basement used to be filled with people at all times and anti-social elements were unable to indulge in any activity, making it a safer place for female paramedics,” added Dr Pai. She further stated that even several years after the incident, security guards would escort nurses to the wards during their night shifts.
Dr Pai said that Walmiki died a natural death in Delhi where he was doing menial jobs after serving seven years in prison.
Are the nurses of KEM Hospital worried about their security after hearing about the incident? “Definitely not,” they answer. Speaking to FPJ, a nurse intern who joined the hospital only a few months back said, “When any one of us are put on duty in Ward No 4 we get to see her (Shanbaug) during her feeding time.” Though the nurse has vaguely heard of the Delhi rape case, she considers Mumbai a safe city.
Nurses at the hospital make it a point to feed Aruna fruit juices every four hours through a drip. “She is unable to chew or eat semi-solid food now. We try our best to attend to her as she has been through so much,” said a nurse, stationed at the ward. “Though I’ve been working for the past 20 years I didn’t know her personally, but our seniors speak of her fondly,” added the nurse.
On condition of anonymity, a senior nurse said that they were aware of the recent Delhi gangrape case but chose not to speak of it that often as it brought back bad memories. “Every time I hear of a brutal rape case on the news, it reminds me of 1973 when Aruna was sexually assaulted,” said the senior nurse adding that at such times only women feel a sense of hopelessness. “Though we feel safe working late night shifts in the hospital, we have to be careful sometimes to avoid any uncomfortable situations” she added.
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