Home / Crime and Justice / Court Acquits Two in Amboli Double Murder Case
Court Acquits Two in Amboli Double Murder Case
6 Nov
Summary
- Two accused acquitted of murder due to insufficient evidence of common intention.
- One convict's murder sentence reduced to 20 years without remission.
- Court upheld convictions for other offenses for the acquitted individuals.
In a significant development concerning the infamous Amboli double murder case, the Bombay high court has modified the conviction of one of the accused while acquitting two others of murder.
Jitendra Rana, who was convicted of murdering Keenan Santos, has had his sentence reduced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment without statutory remission. The bench noted Rana's age at the time of the incident, 25, and his status as a non-habitual offender.
However, the court found the prosecution's evidence insufficient to establish common intention for murder against Sunil Both and Deepak Piwal. Consequently, they were acquitted of the primary murder charge, though their convictions for other related offenses were upheld.
The ruling stems from an incident where Keenan Santos and his friends were attacked outside a restaurant in Amboli. While Rana was found to have assaulted Keenan gruesomely, the evidence against Both and Piwal regarding their involvement in the actual murders was deemed inconsistent and unsafe to rely upon.
All four original convicts, including Satish Dulgaj who passed away in November 2025, have been in custody since 2011. The high court's judgment, spanning 184 pages, clarifies the specific roles and culpability of each accused in the tragic events.
