Special women's court judge Vrushali V. Joshi held the accused – Jitendra Rana, Sunil Bodh, Satish Dulaj and Dipak Tiwal – guilty of murder, outraging the modesty of women and other charges of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and awarded them with life imprisonment till death.
Bringing to a close the over four years' wait for the families of Keenan Santos, 24 and Reuben Fernandes, 29 – who were brutally murdered while trying to save their women companions from a group of hooligans – a special women’s court, on Thursday, sentenced all the four accused in the case to jail till death.
Special women's court judge Vrushali V. Joshi held the accused – Jitendra Rana, Sunil Bodh, Satish Dulaj and Dipak Tiwal – guilty of murder, outraging the modesty of women and other charges of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and awarded them with life imprisonment till death. The incident, which happened at Amboli in suburban Andheri on October 20, 2011, had sparked an outrage and debate about the safety of women in public places.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam argued that the parents of the deceased were waiting for justice for long four and a half years and that the court should award maximum punishment to the accused as two young lives were lost while trying to shield their female friends from molesters. Nikam also appealed the court to grant compensation to the family of deceased.
Judge Joshi observed that the quartet had tried to molest and outrage the modesty of the victim girls and when they were stopped they murdered Keenan and Reuben. The judge observed that the accused had no plans for murdering the duo and hence it cannot be construed as conspiracy as stated by the investigating officer.
After going through the final police report and the statements recorded by almost 30 witnesses present at the time of accident, Judge Joshi announced the quantum of punishment for the accused. The accused were also given orders to pay fine, prescribed under the law.
When the judge asked the accused if they wished to say anything, Jitendra Rana alone pleaded that he be granted some mercy. He said that he has kids to take care of and are worried about their future. He also claimed innocence and said that he had never harassed a girl. The other three, however, were found to be in a lighter mood.
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