Mumbai, Nov. 6 -- Social worker Ritasha D'souza was eight years old when Amboli, her cosmopolitan neighbourhood in Andheri West, made national headlines over the killing of two men-Keenan Santos, 24, and Reuben Fernandez, 29--for protecting their female friends from sexual harassment on the street. By the time D'souza began her postgraduate studies in social work years later, "neighbourhood heroes" Keenan and Reuben had become part of the academic discourse on violence against women. "Aren't you from Amboli?' People in my class would ask. 'You must know all about the incident', they would say," D'souza told HT, speaking two days before Bombay High Court upheld the conviction of the main accused Jitendra Fakirchand Rana. The court's order on Thursday sentencing Rana to life imprisonment while acquitting two other men of murder, brings the curtain down on a case that tested a city which prides itself on being the safest city for women in India. On the night of October 20, 2011, a group of seven friends-four men and three women-had gone to the Amboli Kitchen Bar and Restaurant to watch an India-England cricket match on the big screen. The group had just exited the restaurant after the match when four men-not known in the neighbourhood-- began pawing the women in the group and making lewd comments. While Keenan Santos verbally confronted the molesters, his friend Avinash Solanki slapped one of the men, all of whom fled shorty after. Only to return armed with knives, cricket bats and stumps. In the melee that followed, Jitendra Rana and Satish Dulgaj repeatedly stabbed Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez while their two accomplices, Sunil Both and Dipak Piwal, attacked Reuben's brother Benjamin and Avinash Solanki. The grievously injured Keenan died hours after the attack, Reuben died days later in hospital. The attacks, on the women and then the killings of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez, on a busy road left the city stunned. "More so since it's rare that men physically stand up to defend their women friends being harassed. It was sad that the outcome of that was so tragic," says advocate Audrey Dmello, director of Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai, "But still, a message went out. This was before the Nirbhaya case (2012) and before the amendments made to the Indian Penal Code (in cases of violence against women)." In the Catholic-dominated gaothan (literally a village-Mumbai has 52 demarcated gaothans within its city limits) a memorial pillar 'dedicated to the memory of Keenan Santos & Reuben Fernandez' stands tall at a busy junction down the road from St Blaise church. The dust that engulfs most parts of a city-under perennial construction-- hasn't spared the black granite plaque, partly concealing the names of the two men. But in Amboli, for the local parish and the families of the seven friends, the High Court judgment is a closure or sorts. Keenan's younger brother Sheldon told HT, "Even when faced with danger, his first instinct was to ensure his girlfriend's safety. He stood up for his female friends and their dignity. "They are always cited as examples of bravery. What they did was not only about protecting women, it was about protecting your friends, protecting one another," said D'souza. Sheldon's twin Shane who gave up his career in hospitality to pursue law after Keenan's murder-both were 18 at that time-says the murders shook up the administration. "We had a lot of support. The government too did its part and appointed a good public prosecutor. There was real action when all four accused were convicted and sentenced to life in 2016. And then we got to know that they had filed appeals in the Bombay High Court. My father who fought so hard all these years could not really get closure because he passed away last year before the appeals were decided," said Shane who now practises in HC. One of the four accused, Satish Dulgaj, died while in prison, and on Thursday, a division bench of Justices Makarand Karnik and Sandesh D Patil held that there was no cogent evidence to convict Sunil Omprakash Both and Deepak Piwal of the charge of murder. Instead, these two men who had attacked Reuben's brother Benjamin and his friend Avinash Solanki with cricket bats and stumps on that night of October 20,2011, were convicted for causing simple hurt. Following the incident, Reuben Fernandez's family relocated to Goa, while the three women present that night left the city, all deeply impacted alongside the Santos and Fernandez families. Amboli Bar and Kitchen, where the boys shared their last meal, closed months later. The site now features brightly lit shops, contrasting sharply with the gaothan's quaint single-storey cottages across the road. Pereira, a septuagenarian parishioner of St. Blaise Church, recalls the collective grief and the peaceful nature of Amboli in 2011. He notes that the shocking tragedy initially instilled widespread fear about going out at night. Although memories have faded over time, passing the former bar still reminds him of the brave young men. Concurrently, concerns persist over crimes against women in Mumbai. NCRB data shows Mumbai recorded 6,358 cases in 2024-the second highest among 19 metropolitan cities, though far behind Delhi's 13,396 cases. Audrey Dmello of Majlis cautions against using NCRB figures as a benchmark, arguing that higher numbers reflect better crime reporting rather than reduced safety. She emphasises that while Mumbai remains relatively safe, comparisons with Delhi must end, as the state capital must ensure a secure environment for its millions of working women. Reflecting on the tragedy, Shane Santos acknowledges the pain his family has endured since Keenan's death. Nevertheless, he firmly believes his brother died doing what was right....