Aruna Shanbaug’s rapist traced to Ghaziabad

Mumbai: Almost 10 days after Mumbai nurse Aruna Shanbaug died after being in coma for 42 years, the man who raped her and then strangled her with a dog chain was traced to a village in Uttar Pradesh. Sohanlal Walmiki walked free from prison after serving a seven-year sentence and was untraceable after that.

 The newspaper report said that Walmiki has been ostracised by the villagers. His wife is also reported to have left him. So he is forced to live on the fringes of his hometown — the Parpa Hapud village in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. 

 His children still live with him but openly admit that they can’t ever forgive their father for the heinous crime he committed years ago. Walmiki said that he did not remember anything that happened on that day and then ironically went on to ask him “Why is everyone calling it (the incident) a rape?”

 It may be recalled that he was convicted and sentenced for assault and robbery, but was never charged for rape. Walmiki, who was working as a ward-boy at the KEM Hospital when he attacked Shanbaug is now old, weak and frail. His vision is blurred. But he still cycles to the NTPC plant, which is nearly 30 km away from his home, to work as a labourer. He earns Rs 4,000 a month. He got the job after he completed his prison sentence and returned to his village. He says he never went to Delhi or Mumbai after that. Walmiki said that he heard about Aruna’s death and now fears that the police might arrest him again.