Is this the safe Mumbai we were promised?

It was a regular Thursday night in the bustling suburb of Andheri, when a group of friends strolled out of a popular restaurant for a paan by the street. The ritual was a regular post dinner feature for the group, but little did they know that it would be their last outing together.

In an incident that shamed the city of dreams, two men lost their lives for standing up to drunk goons who wanted to have their way with their female friends.

Keenan Santos, Reuben Fernandes, Avinash Solanki, Priyanka Fernandes and their friends had just finished dinner at the Amboli Bar and Kitchen and were standing by a paan shop near the restaurant when local goons began passing lewd comments at the girls in the group. Reuben and Keenan stood up for the girls and an altercation took place between the two groups. One of the men slapped a goon, identified as Jitender Rana, a sweeper by profession.

Rana, then ran to his slums and returned with a gang of 17 people armed with stumps and hockey sticks. Satish, a member of the gang, grabbed the sharp knives from a coconut water vendor and stabbed Keenan. While Rana attacked Rueben stabbing him repeatedly in the abdomen.

Keenan died on the same day, and Reuben lost his battle after an 11-day struggle.

But the most shocking aspect of this entire incident is that despite having a huge crowd of bystanders that witnessed the gruesome murders, not one person came forward to help. Keenan had the presence of mind to push the girls in the group out of harm's way. He pushed them back inside the restaurant so that they would be safe, and stood up to the goons even though he was outnumbered.

For the bystanders, there was a tamasha happening by the street and the stood like mute spectators.

Keenan's girlfriend Priyanka, who was part of the group, kept screaming for help, but no one volunteered to come forward. A waiter from the restaurant, who knew Keenan and Reuben personally, finally came forward to help. He dragged Keenan's bleeding body into the restaurant, but by then it was too late.

Priyanka kept dialling the police control room number but got no response. The incident happened on a main artery in the suburb of Andheri at 10.30 pm, and yet there was no police patrol vehicle or beat marshal in sight who could have helped or intervened in the situation.

So where does that leave the Law and Order of the city? Home Minister RR Patil and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan expressed grief and stated that they were shocked by the incident. However, being shocked in your air-conditioned offices does not make the life of the average Mumbaikar any safer.

The man arrested for the murder of Keenan and Reuben, already has a case of Attempt to murder registered against him. The fact that two drunken men picked up a street vendor's knife and stabbed two people to death in front of 50 eyewitnesses is by itself beyond shocking, Mantriji.

How exactly do you expect the average Mumbaikar to feel safe in this city, when standing up to an eve-teaser can result in such a gruesome murder?

The police have so far arrested four accused on charges of murder, and booked a larger group on charges of rioting. And the state is mulling putting the case up on a fast track court, and appoint a celebrity public prosecutor.

However, this is just a knee-jerk reaction to control the damage done to the moral fabric of this city. Mumbai was considered to be one of the safest cities in the country for women. But after this incident, will Mumbaikars be able to stake claim to this title?

That's a question that needs to be answered quickly, strongly and effectively.

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