Keenan-Reuben double murder: HC upholds key accused’s murder conviction, reduces lifer to 20 years
Keenan-Reuben double murder: HC upholds key accused’s murder conviction, reduces lifer to 20 years Mumbai, Nov 5 (IANS) The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Jitendra Rana, the prime accused in the 2011 Keenan Santos and Ruben Fernandes double murder in Mumbai’s Amboli, and acquitted two co-accused of the murder charge for lack of evidence.
A division bench of Justice M.S. Karnik and Justice Sandesh Patil offered some relief to key convict Rana alias Chaina (40) by reducing his sentence from life imprisonment to 20 years in jail, without remission, “considering his age”.
The High Court delivered the verdict on appeals filed against the 2016 verdict delivered by a Special Women’s Court, which had sentenced all four to life imprisonment for the murders. The High Court acquitted co-convicts Sunil Bhot alias Chota and Deepak Tival of murder charges but upheld their sentences for other offences.
The fourth accused in the case, Satish Dulgaj, died last year during the hearing on appeals. Keenan Santos (24) and Reuben Fernandez (29) were fatally attacked with weapons in Mumbai’s Amboli in October 20 2011 after allegedly confronting men harassing their female friends with whom they had gone for a party at Amboli Bar and Kitchen Restaurant in Andheri West.
Earlier, Advocates Sudeep Pasbola and Yug Chaudhry, representing the accused, argued that the alleged molestation incident did not occur and that the prosecution had failed to prove the reason and motive behind the attack.
The defence also argued that it was a mutual fight that occurred after grave and sudden provocation and, therefore, should be treated as culpable homicide under the exception to Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, and not a case of murder.
Meanwhile, Special Public Prosecutor Aabad Ponda argued that witness statements, forensic evidence, and eyewitness testimony prove the attack was premeditated. He rejected the defence’s argument, saying that after one of the accused was slapped, he left the scene threatening to kill and later returned with a knife, a cricket stump, and a large bamboo stick.
Ponda told the court that Keenan’s body had deep wounds caused by a sharp-edged weapon and that he died from excessive bleeding due to the knife attack. While Keenan died the same day, Reuben succumbed to his injuries 10 days later.
The trial court in May 2016 convicted all four convicts for murder and multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Bombay Police Act and sentenced them to life imprisonment for the remainder of their lives.
The other charges slapped by the police included outraging modesty (Sections 354, 509), causing hurt with dangerous weapons (Section 324), criminal intimidation (Section 506), and mischief (Section 434). The trial of the high-profile double murder, which sparked public outrage, took several twists and turns, including the murder of Avinash Bali, a key witness in the case, in August 2018.
