Accused in the Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez murder case are taken for the final verdict at the sessions court from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. (Photo: Shripad Naik)
A special court in Mumbai handling cases related to atrocities on women on Thursday convicted four men of murdering Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez in Amboli in 2011 and sentenced all the convicts to imprisonment for the remainder of their lives.
Special judge Vrushali Joshi held Jitendar Rana, Sunil Both, Satish Durgaj and Deepak Piswal guilty of killing the two youth on the intervening night of October 20, 2011.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam did not ask for the death penalty as the charge of conspiracy was not proved against the accused and there was one stab wound.
The prosecution’s case was that on the day of the incident seven friends had gone to the Amboli Kitchen and Bar for dinner and to watch a cricket match. The group included three girls. After leaving the restaurant, they encountered a group of drunk men standing outside who started making lewd comments at the girls. When the boys in the group objected to the eve-teasing, a quarrel ensued. It soon turned into a violent fight, resulting in the death of Santos and Fernandez.
“There are five eyewitnesses. Of them, three were friends of the deceased, the security guard and a paanwala,” said the judge. She added — while describing what she had considered before arriving at the verdict —that the statements of the last two witnesses, who went to the police station on their own, were recorded a day after the incident.
Speaking about the testimony of the security guard and the paanwala, the judge observed that their evidence was natural. She said both of them narrated what they had seen and had not added anything on their own. According to the judge, the guard was watching the incident from the door of the restaurant. “If he wanted to falsely implicate the accused, then he would have narrated the whole incident of molestation by mentioning the act of touching the victims inappropriately. But, from a distance he saw the accused smoking and passing filthy comments at the girls,” the judge said. She noted that a witness had narrated Santos’ reaction: “Don‘t they have mothers and sisters at home ”
She also noted that the paanwala had not narrated that he saw the accused teasing the girls. He stated that the girls came there and were scared. They were saying something to one of their male friends while pointing towards the accused. Therefore the paanwala felt the accused must have misbehaved with the girls.
“Though the incident occurred in front of his shop, it is not necessary that he must have seen it.
He could have been busy preparing paan ordered by them. Another witness also spoke about Santos’ reaction as mentioned by the paanwala,” observed the judge. The court also took into consideration the fact that all witnesses identified the accused.
The testimony of the victim was also important where she mentioned the accused made catcalls and derogatory comments. The victim also said the accused touched them inappropriately. “It proves the accused’s intention and daring to go to that extent. It is possible that the girls would inform their male friends about such an act,” observed the judge, adding that another witness, who is the friend of the victim and a direct eyewitness, also narrated the act committed by the accused.
“The victim screamed at being touched inappropriately. Nobody screams only over a lewd comment and therefore the girls must have boldly disclosed about the incident of being touched inappropriately. Therefore, the immediate action of Keenan after hearing the incident is natural,” the judge observed.
The judge noted that main accused Rana was injured and had an injury that counted as one of the incriminating circumstances against him.
