India

Bombay High Court Upholds 20‑Year Sentence for Jitendra Rana in 2011 Keenan‑Ruben Murder Case

By Karuna Nidhi

The Bombay High Court, on Thursday, upheld the conviction of Jitendra Fakirchand Rana and sentenced him to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for the 2011 murder of Keenan Santosh and Ruben Fernandes. A division bench of Justice Makarand Karnik and Justice Sandesh D. Patil found no sufficient evidence to convict two other accused, Sunil Omprakash Both and Deepak Ishwar Omprakash Piwal, of murder, but upheld their conviction for simple hurt and the one‑year sentence imposed by the special court in 2016. Satish Dulgaj, one of the accused, died while the appeal was pending.

The killings occurred on 20 October 2011 at Amboli Kitchen Bar and Restaurant in Andheri West. After a cricket match, Keenan, Ruben, Benjamin Fernandes and Avinash Solanki were confronted by four men, including Rana and Dulgaj, who had groped a female friend and made lewd remarks. Keenan confronted the men, and Solanki slapped Rana. The four men later returned armed with knives and stabbed Keenan and Ruben. The accomplices, Both and Piwal, assaulted Benjamin and Solanki with a cricket bat and a wooden stump.

Keenan was severely wounded, with his intestine protruding; Benjamin and Solanki, assisted by a waiter, re‑inserted the intestine, wrapped the stomach, and transported him to Kolilaben Hospital. Ruben was taken first to Cooper Hospital and then to Kolilaben Hospital, where he died on 31 October 2011 after ten days of unconsciousness. Keenan died within 10 to 15 minutes of arrival at the hospital.

All four accused were arrested shortly after the incident. On 5 May 2016, the sessions court convicted them all of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment, citing the brutal nature of the killings that followed the initial vulgar act.