Man who choked her life still `at large’

1. Man who choked her life still
`at large’
But She Never Visited Hosp; Financial Woes Kept Family From
Reaching Out

2. Contd..
When Shyamala saw television channels showing photographs of her
younger sister Aruna Shanbaug, who died on Monday , she felt a strange
mixture of sadness and relief.The octogenarian is Aruna's only surviving
sibling out of nine.
“I am saddened by her death, But, at the same time, I am happy that her 42-
year ordeal ended today ,“ said Shyamala who lives in Kodkani village in
Kumta, north Karnataka. “She was very beautiful when young. She was
intelligent and mixed with people very easily ,“ she said while watching TV .
Shyamala never went to visit Aruna after the rape. “We had no means to
support her or pay for her hospital expenses. Like me, my sister Shanta, who
stayed in Mumbai, also abandoned Aruna due to financial constraints.“

3. Contd..
Shyamala recalled Aruna's last visit to their hometown of Haldipur in Uttara
Kannada district just a couple of months be fore her rape in November
1973.Today , no one from the family lives in Haldipur. Most of her relatives
are in Kodkani village.
Shyamala lives alone as he daughters are married and her son works in
Bengaluru. “ After completing her SSLC, Aruna went to Mumbai in search of
a job as the financial condition back home was bad.“ She was also unaware
that Aruna was the focus of debate on euthanasia.
Even for Aruna's distant kin, financial constraints had always kept them away
. “Poverty is what kept the family from taking care of Aruna Shanbaug,“ said
Vaishnavi Nayak (19). Vaishnavi's father Vinayak is Aruna's nephew who
performed her last rites jointly with KEM Hospital dean Dr Avinash Supe on
Monday .

4. Contd..
Vinayak's sister and Aruna's niece, Mangala Nayak, also rushed to the
hospital after hearing of her death. She bade a teary farewell to Aruna at the
Bhoiwada crematorium and thanked the nurses for taking care of her aunt.
“What they have done is beyond measure in the police reports. As a `first-
time offender', Valmiki was sentenced to seven years for attempted murder
and robbery. There were rumours that he had snuck in to Aruna's room after
finishing his jail term. Hospital authorities began to lock Aruna's door from
outside. And so it had remained even as stories spread about Valmiki
working as a ward boy in a Delhi hospital after changing his name. There has
been no photos or sightings of him. At Vinayak's residence, Aruna was never
mentioned among her family . In fact, Vaishnavi learnt about Aruna only in
2013 when a debate on euthanasia took place after the Supreme Court
rejected her mercy killing petition. They have been living in Virar (East) for
seven years.Before that, they were in Worli.

5. “My father told me then that they were living in poverty and could not
bear the medical expenses of Aruna,“ said Vaishnavi. Aruna lived with
Vinayak's mother Shanta in a small room in Worli as she was saving up
for her wedding. Shanta passed away in September 2013.
Vinayak was in school when Aruna was raped by a ward boy in KEM
hospital in 1973. After the incident, her siblings drifted away fearing
that they would have to take care of Aruna.
Vinayak's wife Vidya recalls that she had heard about Aruna when she
got married in 1992 but she was never discussed. “I know about Aruna
from what I have read. In fact, we are not in touch with any of our
relatives.“

6. Contd..
Vidya said they had keenly watched the debate on euthanasia and
were against it themselves. “We wanted her to have a natural death
and are happy she has been relieved of her pain.“
It is no surprise that no one in the building where the Nayaks stay are
even aware about their relationship with Aruna. In fact, Vinayak's
mother Shanta was living away from them when she died. Vinayak
sister Mangala Nayak, also lives in Virar.
In December 2013, when Aruna had taken ill, her family had tried to
meet her but said they were not allowed. While they got busy with
their own lives, the family thought that Aruna was best taken care of in
the hospital.