Keenan and Reuben Murders: Martyrs who went down fighting for their friend

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Monday, 21 November 2011 21:35

Written by Rahul Nair, Edited by Arpita Bhagat

Keenan and Reuben Murders: Martyrs who went down fighting for their friend

Our country has over the centuries been known as the land where heroes are born every day and where martyrs are a common occurrence. Rewind back through the legacy left behind and one can stay sure that each event, important or otherwise had someone, a soul, who stood up for others for the simple reason to follow his or her beliefs. And not surprisingly even as time passed, the citizens of our great country have in some way inculcated this quality from their predecessors.

‘Young Brigade’ of our nation proved just that, when they were actually not involved in the situation in any probable way, but still it was the stand that they ‘chose’ to take, which made all the difference. Here’s one such story, which is not archaic and occurred very much in this century, in fact, in this very decade and that makes its relevance even more worthwhile.

Samuel Johnson once said, “Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other” and he hit the bull’s eye with these golden words. Courage, indeed, is one of the most essential qualities of a human being. A man without courage never really lives. He who cannot stand for his rights or fight evil and unjust against his fellow being or protect his loved ones is not ‘living’. There are still, however, many unsung heroes hidden in our society, who dare to come forward, when the situation demands and do all possible in their capacity, regardless of the price they or their families might have to pay. Today, we are going to tell you a story, a gloomy tale of two young men Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes reliving their heroic act.

Revisiting a gruesome tale:

Recollection of the events that occurred on the night of Keenan and Reuben Murders

It was the evening of 20^th October, 2011, a bunch of youngsters Keenan, Rueben, Priyanka, Benjamin, Avinash and few other female friends peacefully dined at the Amboli Kitchen and Bar in Andheri West, Mumbai, simultaneously relishing the ongoing 3^rd ODI between India and England. At around 10:30 in the night, they left the joint, ambling to a nearby Pan shop, all a pretty frequented area for them. Unaware of their imminent horrifying destinies, a friendly banter kept the group occupied. Next, the group realized the presence of a totally inebriated man, with no senses active. This man, Jitendra Rana, ended up falling on one of the girls of this peaceful group. A tussle of words followed between Rana and the guys. However, instead of accepting his misconduct and apologizing, Rana became aggressive which further fuelled the youngsters leading to a fist fight. Humiliated, he uttered curses and swore vengeance. Within minutes, he returned, with an army of thirteen merciless men well equipped with swords, daggers and knives. The wrath fell on Keenan and Rueben as they were stabbed infinite times until their friends somehow managed to pull them inside the restaurant. The culprits, however, left the scene within minutes. Brave Keenan died on the spot, leaving a wailing Priyanka beside his tattered body while Rueben succumbed to his injuries thirteen days hence amongst his ailing family and friends.

Keenan and Reuben Murders: Media action and the consequent upsurge.

The incident remained mostly uncovered by the media during the initial days. So much so that the newspapers as well as the TV news channels rarely gave any attention to this horrific tale. The distraught families, however, were ready to fight until justice delivered and this was evident from the stance they took from the very start. In fact, during one of his interviews to NDTV 24x7, Valerian Santos, Keenan’s father said, “I am 52 right now and I am going to keep the fight on till the day of my death or until the day justice is delivered.” Perhaps, chivalry ran in their blood.

The issue was then highlighted with a dedicated page on the social networking site Facebook created by friends and families of the affected and it generated a tremendous response among all. Called Keenan Santos, it played a crucial role in highlighting the Keenan and Reuben murders. Till date the group has garnered more than a lakh members and still counting. The excellent fiat would not have been possible without the consistent effort of active members working day and night, such as Nirmit Nehal Kaur, Raj Khilnani, Krutika Paingankar, Natasha Pinto Shevde, Rachel Miranda among others.

These people worked their heart out in the group making sure that each new member added was aware of the incident and was requested to gather in more people. Meanwhile, they also endorsed the ‘Zero Tolerance Campaign’, which urged the general public to sign an online petition which would later be sent to the Maharashtra government.

Keenan Santos, however, did not receive all optimistic reviews. Like most media campaigns, there were people here too who felt that the page was a waste of time and the online petition just an eye-grabbing strategy. Some even came down to the extent of writing things like ‘they do not have any time for such useless activities’. Still others had the fire to fight justice still burning, quoting one such member, “People have time for liking and commenting on statuses of their friends and on their photos, but they do not have 5 minutes for the petition. This Chalta hai attitude will not do any good.” Moreover, there also occurred spats and difference of opinions among a few members involving fierce accusations that the site was being misused for political benefits and the claim that the link is a spam. However the dispute was settled but the accused members, even though they came out clean, decided to be away from the page and work individually.

The baton was next taken over by NDTV and they took the battle against justice to a whole a new level. With the news being included in their special bulletins and daily programs based on the issue, the government and the rest of the media had to sit up and take notice.

NDTV 24x7, on their special program The Buck Stops Here, invited Mr. Valerian, Priyanka, Benjamin as well Keenan’s younger brother, providing their unheard voices a much needed platform. When asked as to why the group chose not to leave unlike most would in a similar situation, Mr. Valerian replied, “Running away from problems does not end them. My son was brave. Even though I have lost him, I am happy he stood up for a woman’s dignity.”

Recalling the fateful night of Keenan and Reuben Murders, Priyanka said, “There were 40-50 people who watched them getting slaughtered and no one came forward for help. They just stood. Even the rickshaws had to be called by us to get them to the hospital”. Kennan’s brother recalled, “I remember a small boy was once slapped by a man for no reason. He stood up and fought for the boy. Keenan always stood up for truth and for what he believed in.”

The whole episode raises three main questions. First, how safe are women in our country? And second, should they hole up behind the safe walls of their houses because the authorities lack the requisite resources and strength? Should they give up on their ambitions, goals and dreams, since every time they move on the roads at night, there is always a Rana waiting to molest, harass, rape or even murder them?

The other query is a particularly disturbing and grave one. Is standing up for the truth a crime? One of the NDTV presenters said, “Those who raise their voices against injustice and depravity, have to pay with their lives and believe it or not, it has happened yet again.” Are we so scared of death that we can encounter innocent people being getting brutally murdered right under our impassive eyes and still not utter a word?

Remember, you can run away from everyone but yourself. And if you cannot fight for others, do not expect any sort of help, whatsoever, in your hour of need. Keenan and Rueben, you would never be forgotten. May your souls rest in peace!

As of today, four arrests have been made which includes the prime accused, Jitendra Rana, Deepak Tival, Satish Dulgaj and Sunil Bote. They have been charged with Murder, Attempt to Murder, Acts of Group violence, voluntarily causing harm by lethal weapons, outraging women’s modesty and criminal intimidation. Ironically, Jitendra Rana is already an accused in two pending murder cases and is out on bail. It is a peculiar example of unleashing a wild beast into civil society and in fact lending him the prerogative of freely murdering innocents. Is it also now some sort of a Right to Freedom? Why is the government dead deaf towards the Keenan and Reuben Murders? Is it because Rana is politically strong or is it because they let out Rana, permitting another cruel deed which counteracts the very purpose of having a government? This is a classic case of shame for our very protectors (government)? So do we really need a government? Are you listening Mr. Chief Minister? What about you, Mr. Prime Minister? Making promises is not your job. Its time you introspect and High time let your actions speak!

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