Mumbai's Bravehearts Lose Lives Fighting Eve Teasers, as People Watch
Daijiworld Media Network
Mumbai, Nov 3: It was supposed to be a usual, fun evening out with friends, and it was, until it ended in the murder of two bravehearts.
Rueben Fernandes (28) and Keenan Santos (25) were stabbed on the night of October 20 by a gang of eve teasers, or rather, those who were sexually harassing girls. While Keenan died soon after, Rueben fought for his life for 11 days until he too breathed his last early this week in a hospital.
On October 20, the duo with five of their friends including three girls were out on an evening of cricket and dinner together, as they had been a hundred times before in their five-year friendship. As was their routine, they dined at Amboli Kitchen and Bar restaurant, watched a cricket match, and were standing near a paan shop, when the incident occured.
Keenan and Rueben
Keenan and Rueben with Avinash and Benjamin in happier times
The seven of them were waiting for their order of sweet paan when a group of goons lingering at the spot, and who were later identified as Jitendra Rana (25), Sunil Bote (20), Satish Dulgaj (35) and Deepak Tival (19), started passing lewd comments at the girls. The group of friends initially tried to ignore them, but when Rana started walking towards the girls, one of them, Avinash Solanki, intervened and blocked Rana's path. They got in to a heated argument, ending with Rana abusing Avinash, and the latter slapping him. Rueben too joined in and slapped Rana as well. Rana and his gang then left with a threat to kill them.
Thinking that the episode was over, Rueben, Keenan and others continued standing at the spot, but soon Rana returned with a big group of goons armed with knives and bamboo shoots. Panicked, the boys pushed the girls to safety inside the restaurant, and started shouting for help. But no one came forward, despite the area being a crowded one.
Rana and his men got hold of Keenan and stabbed him repeatedly on the stomach and chest and then lunged at Rueben too. Rueben's brother, Benjamin, who was already injured a few days back and had his hand in a cast, was also attacked and hit repeatedly on the injured hand. Avinash spotted a ladder nearby, and threw it on the attackers, which made them fall. He then rushed Keenan inside the restaurant where he and a waiter tried to give him first aid.
A crowd had gathered by this time, but no one came to their help despite repeated cries for help, and did not even stop the attackers when they fled the scene.
Keenan's girlfriend Priyanka who was an eyewitness to the stabbing said her sense of security has shattered.
"People stood there watching...did nothing," she said in between sobs of distress.
The incident has put the entire Mumbai to shame, but what is even more shocking is the delayed response by the police.
One of the girls had started calling 100 for police as soon as the attackers arrived. But even after trying for an hour, she could not get through as the line was continuously engaged. Finally, a police picked the call, but instead of coming to help immediately, started asking the same questions about location and landmarks a number of times. The police arrived only after the injured boys were taken to hospital.
Police, however, did manage to arrest the four main accused, who were then booked under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
Following the incident, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have erupted with angry responses from millions across the nation. Campaigns have been launched demanding justice for Rueben and Keenan, and for making Mumbai a safer city for girls. It is indeed a shame that a girl is not safe in a crowded Indian metro even when she is in a group. And what is even more shameful is the way crowds simply stood by watching without moving a muscle, as if it were a scene from a film shooting.
Mumbai has lost two brave youngsters who stood against the menace of eve-teasing. Their courage will be repaid only when the culprits are brought to book.