On Thursday morning, the Special Women’s Court was packed to capacity, as family members of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes and the four accused streamed in before the verdict in the case was delivered. The first row of the courtroom was occupied by parents and relatives of Keenan and Reuben, while the other rows were packed with relatives of the accused.
The mood turned sombre but shot with anticipation when the judge asked the accused to step up and stand next to the witness box. Moments later, the judge sentenced them to life imprisonment until death.
The verdict came as a huge blow to the family members of the main accused Jitesh Rana, who were inconsolable. In a matter of a few minutes, the accused had become convicts and were sent back to Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai.
The verdict had nearly similar effect, though for different reasons, on the family members of Keenan and Reuben, who hugged each other and said they had finally got justice after five years of trying court visits. Keenan’s father Valerian Santos, his mother, and grandmother Deolinda broke down, as did Reuben’s family members.
Valerian kept thanking everyone for the conviction and said the investigating officer in the case was of great help, and was an honest and upright officer. While Keenan’s grandmother couldn’t stop crying, his mother hugged relatives and thanked them for praying for them.
The conviction came on the basis of the eyewitness accounts of three women and Avinash Solanki, a friend who accompanied Keenan and Reuben that fateful night. Seven friends including three women and the deceased duo had visited Amboli Bar and Kitchen restaurant on the night of October 20, 2011 to watch a cricket match and end the evening with dinner. As the women were leaving the restaurant, one of the accused passed lewd remarks and touched one of them inappropriately. The women narrated the details in-camera before the court.
“As they approached us, Avinash Bali intervened tried to talk to them, but the boy wearing a white Pathani suit pushed him back and so Bali slapped him,” the women had deposed.
The four accused said they would return, and left. “As we were leaving, those four strangers returned armed with big knives, cricket stumps and bamboo sticks. We were frightened and ran towards the restaurant’s steps,” the women deposed. They told the court that they saw the accused attack Bali, Keenan, Reuben and Benjamin with their weapons. The attackers left Keenan and Reuben grievously injured. The women, with Bali’s help, admitted the duo to a nearby hospital. The statements of the victim nailed the accused, based on which the court sentenced them to life imprisonment.
