MUMBAI: A bravery pillar opposite Amboli Church, erected in memory of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez, seems to mock the outcome of the 2011 double murder case. On Thursday, two accused were acquitted of murder by the Bombay high court, while a third had his life sentence reduced to 20 years’ RI.He is expected to be released in 2031, at the age of 44. Keenan’s twin brothers, lawyer Shane and photographer Sheldon, were present in court when the verdict was read out. They said they would comment after studying the judgment. It remains to be seen whether they challenge the acquittal. Shane, in fact, changed the course of his career and chose to become a lawyer following his brother’s murder.Reuben lived in an apartment building next to the Santos family’s cottage. When TOI visited on Thursday, a neighbour said, “His parents and brother Benjamin have moved to Goa and rented out this flat. In fact, I hope they don’t learn of this judgment because it will break their hearts.This is a demoralising verdict. But I anticipated the accused would walk free. When cases are prolonged for years, several factors can influence the outcome.” Shortly after the murders, Catholic residents of Amboli had taken out a candlelight march in protest. On Thursday, however, a sense of futility gripped churchgoers arriving at St Blaise Church for evening mass. On learning that one convict’s sentence had been reduced to 20 years, a parishioner remarked, “He will be 44 at the time. That is a tender age.”A shopkeeper said, “The law cannot jail juveniles; it cannot hold adults in prison because they ‘age’. So whom can it convict?” Residents recalled how a “fast-track court” had taken five years to deliver a conviction. Keenan’s father, Valerian Santos, had expressed misgivings about the judicial system. His quest was for justice, not revenge. He received death threats from the accused even while they were in prison but refused to give up. Valerian died in March 2025.Activist Teesta Setalvad of the NGO Citizens for Justice & Peace said, “I had said in 2011 that this double murder raised the absence of safe public spaces for women, systemic flaws in prosecution, etc. Even today, these concerns remain. Eve-teasing is also a form of sexual violence. This was allegedly the cause of the double murder…” Meanwhile, nearby Valmiki Nagar colony, where the accused lived, continues to be notorious for incidents of molestation, including cases involving girls as young as eight, even after the Amboli murders. -Bella Jaisinghani
About The Author
