New Delhi: There is outrage in the country over the rape and murder of a doctor in Bengal. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court today, during the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud referred to the Aruna Shanbaug incident of 1973 to highlight the brutal attacks on female doctors over the years.

CJI Chandrachud said, in today's era, women doctors are more targeted, he further said, as soon as women join the workforce, another rape incident comes to light. He further said, Aruna Shanbaug was brutalized inside the hospital, which became a case of trial or euthanasia.

There was a brutal attack at night

Aruna was a 25-year-old nurse at KEM Hospital, the medical institution she joined in the surgery department in 1967. She was engaged to Dr. Sandeep Sardesai at the same hospital and was scheduled to get married in early 1974. However, on the night of November 27, 1973, she was brutally attacked by a ward attendant, Sohanlal Bharat Valmiki. He raped her and then strangled her with a dog chain. The attack caused severe brain damage to Aruna, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), after which she lay like a corpse on a bed in the hospital ward for nearly 42 years.

Demand for euthanasia from the Supreme Court

Aruna became the center of national debate when journalist Pinky Virani filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2011 seeking permission for euthanasia. Journalist Pinky Virani had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission for euthanasia for Aruna. Pinky has given this painful story of Aruna the form of a book.

A book was written on Aruna

She mentioned Pinky Virani's book about Aruna, titled 'Aruna's Story'. The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement delivered on March 7, 2011, rejected the plea for active euthanasia, stating that Aruna was not brain dead and she did respond to certain things, as observed by the hospital staff.