Mumbai eve-teasing murders accused identified

Mumbai: An identification parade of four accused in the murder of two youths who resisted eve-teasing in suburban Amboli was today conducted in a city jail in which the eyewitnesses recognised the attackers, police said. “An identification parade was today conducted in the Arthur Road jail when the 12 eyewitnesses identified the four accused saying they were the ones who killed the youths,” said VD Bhoite, senior inspector of DN Nagar police station.[caption id=“attachment_132969” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Victims of mindless violence. PTI”]  [/caption] The victims’ friends and people standing at the spot were among the witnesses present in the jail today, police said. On 20 October, Reuben Fernandez (28) and Keenan Santos (25) were attacked by a group of four after the duo objected to their acts of indecent behaviour against girls with whom they had gone on an outing. Keenan died on the spot, while Fernandez died in a hospital after a few days. Santos and Fernandez, along with five others, including three girls, had gone to a restaurant to have dinner and watch a cricket match on a giant screen put up there. After a while, they came out of the restaurant and were standing near a pan-shop when the incident had occurred. “An executive magistrate was present during the parade. The result was positive as the witnesses have identified all the accused and this will strengthen our case, which is already watertight. The report by the executive magistrate will be now compiled and sent to court concerned,” said deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar. The accused have been charged under sections 302 (murder), 354 (insulting the modesty of woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC. “When I went to identify them, they had no guilt at all … no remorse at all,” said Priyanka Fernandes, Keenan’s girlfriend.