How India didn't honour the duo who died saving a woman

If Nirbhaya was the face of brutal rape cases in India, Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes were the mascot of the fight against sexual harassment. The brave Mumbaikars remained unforgotten for almost five years, and on Thursday (May 5) a Mumbai court convicted and awarded life sentence till death to their four killers.

Jitendra Rana, Sunil Bodh, Satish Dulgaj and Deepak Tival had not only killed the protectors of women but also shook their confidence in the system. Keenan and Reuben had fought to save the dignity of their woman friend. In return, their families had to struggle to restore their beloved children's honour.

Also read - Gang-rape of 4-year-old: Does India not care?

Keenan's father Valerian rightly said that the fight was not yet over. He was referring to an appeal in the high court seeking death sentence for the four convicts.

"The fight is not over. We might appeal in the higher court and we have to wait till then," said Valerian.

Their murder had shocked Mumbai but the city has still not woken up to the call of duty when it comes to protecting the women. There are fast track courts for conducting trials in rape cases. There is a need to set up similar courts so that people don't have to wait for justice for a long time.

The government should announce a plan to reward those who fight for protecting women. It had set up the Nirbhaya fund of Rs 1,000 crore after the gruesome rape and murder in Delhi of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on December 16, 2012. How about setting up a similar fund for rewarding men who protect women from the anti-social elements? I hope such rewards will encourage men to take on the bad elements. How about calling it as Nirbhay (brave) fund?

Also read: Why isn't rape of a minor horrifying us all?

Keenan and Reuben had laid down their lives protecting women almost a year before the Nirbhaya case shook the nation's conscience. There were small protests and candle marches too seeking justice for the brave duo. A dedicated Facebook page too was created to gather support for the protests. It is the responsibility of those who had liked the page at that time to come forward and take a stand, again.

When the convicts were beating the duo to death, their woman friend had called the police several times. She had complained that no one answered the call. The Mumbai Police proudly proclaim that they reach a spot where a woman is in trouble in seven minutes. I don't think there is a need of repetition of such incidences to test the police's preparedness.

Keenan and Reuben will be remembered for their bravery as well as the society's coward nature.