Ajmer sex scandal: The court has delivered its verdict in Ajmer’s infamous blackmail case, sentencing six accused to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of five lakh rupees each. This ruling was handed down by POCSO Special Court number two. The case dates back to 1992, when multiple college girls were gang-raped, and today the court has pronounced the sentences. The court’s decision pertains to the blackmailing of school girls using objectionable photographs.
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On Tuesday, 20th August, the district court sentenced 6 accused of the country’s biggest sex scandal that happened 32 years ago in Ajmer to life imprisonment. Along with this, a fine of Rs. 5 lakh each has also been imposed on them.
The court sentenced Nafees Chishti, Naseem alias Tarzan, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohil Gani, Syed Zameer Hussain to life imprisonment. All the 6 convicts were present in the court when the sentence was pronounced. One accused Iqbal Bhati was brought to Ajmer from Delhi in an ambulance.
In 1992, there was a lot of uproar when more than 100 college girls were gang-raped and their nude photos were circulated. Many students committed suicide due to fear of defamation. The then government handed over this case to CID-CB. There were 18 accused in the case. 4 have been sentenced.
The High Court has acquitted 4 of them. One of them committed suicide 30 years ago during the trial. Two of the accused were charged with raping a boy, one has already served his sentence and the trial is still going on against one of them. One of the accused is absconding and the verdict on the other 6 has come today. A film has also been made on this blackmail scandal. 104 people testified in this case, 3 victims stood by their statements till the end. The court has given a 208-page verdict.
What was the Ajmer sex scandal of 1992: Court’s decision came after 32 years
The court’s decision comes after 32 long years in the gang rape case. The accused lured the girls, kidnapped them, and blackmailed them using objectionable photographs. The victims, aged between 11 and 20, were students at a prominent school in Ajmer. When this shocking incident was revealed, the then Bhairon Singh Shekhawat-led Rajasthan government ordered a CBI inquiry. Farooq Chishti, the then-president of Ajmer Youth Congress, along with his associates, targeted these girls. The victims were initially hesitant to give statements to the police due to fear and threats. The police were reportedly reluctant to act because of the high influence of the accused, and it took an order from the then Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to register a case.
A film titled ‘Ajmer Diary’ has also been made based on this true incident, shedding light on the horrific events of 1992.
Ajmer sex scandal: Out of 18 accused, 5 have already served their sentence
These four were sentenced to life imprisonment, which was converted to 10 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court:Â Ishrat Ali, Anwar Chishti, Moizullah Puttan Allahabadi, Shamsuddin alias Maradona. They were sentenced in 2003, all of them have been released.
The High Court has acquitted these 4:Â Parvez Ansari, Mahesh Ludhani, Harish Tolani, Kailash Soni. They were sentenced to life imprisonment by the lower court in 1998. The High Court acquitted them.
One has committed suicide and one has a case of rape against him: Purushottam alias Babli committed suicide in 1994 while the case was going on. He had come out on bail. A case of rape of a boy is going on against Zahoor Chishti. Farooq Chishti was sentenced to life imprisonment by the lower court in 2007. In 2013, the High Court released him on the basis of the sentence he had already served.
Today punishment was given to these 6:Â Sohail Ghani, Nafees Chishti, Zameer Hussain, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Naseem alias Tarzan.
One accused still absconding:Â Almas Maharaj is still absconding, a Red Corner Notice has been issued against him.
6 convicts in jail for many years : Among the 6 convicts who were sentenced by the court today, Salim Chishti has already served 8 years, Naseem alias Tarzan 3 and a half years, Nafees Chishti 8 and a quarter years, Sohail Ghani 1.5 years and Iqbal Bhati has already served 3 and a half years. Jamin Hussain was on anticipatory bail. Their lawyer Ajay Verma said that they will appeal in the High Court. Parole was sought for Iqbal Bhati, which was rejected by the judge. Now the jail administration itself will get Iqbal treated in JLN, Ajmer.
Ajmer sex scandal, 6 girls committed suicide : The accused had given the reel to the lab for developing. The lab employees’ intentions got corrupted after seeing the nude pictures. It was through them that the nude photos of the girls came into the market. Only a few people had the master prints, but their xerox copies started circulating in the city. Whoever got hold of these photos started blackmailing the girls. Due to this, 6 girls of the college committed suicide.
Ajmer sex scandal: How did the culprits escape punishment for so many years?
Till 2003, 7 accused in the case namely Nafees Chishti (then Youth Congress Vice President), Anwar Chishti (then Youth Congress Joint Secretary), Iqbal Bhati, Salim Chishti, Sohail Ghani, Zameer Hussain, Almas Maharaj and Naseem alias Tarzan were absconding. All the seven took advantage of the negligence of the police.
The accused knew very well that after the arrest of each accused, the police will file a new chargesheet and a separate trial will be conducted in the court. Keeping this in mind, Nafees Chishti, Anwar Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Salim Chishti, Sohail Ghani, Zameer Hussain and Naseem alias Tarzan surrendered before the police after a long interval.
In 2003, Nafees Chishti and Naseem alias Tarzan were arrested separately from Allahabad and Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan area. In 2004, after the chargesheet was presented against both the accused, the trial began in the court. By 2005, 52 witnesses had also deposed in the case. But, then another accused in the same case, Iqbal Bhati, was arrested from Mumbai. After this arrest, the trial of Nafees Chishti and Naseem was stopped.
After the arrest of Iqbal Bhati, another charge sheet was presented in the court. Now a fresh trial was started against Nafees Chishti, Naseem and Iqbal Bhati. The same witnesses were called again in the court whose statements had been recorded earlier. This time statements of 20 witnesses were recorded in the court.
In 2012, accused Salim Chishti was also arrested by the police. Zameer Hussain also came here from abroad after getting anticipatory bail. He had acquired American citizenship in 2001.
Once again the trial was stopped. A new charge sheet was presented against Salim Chishti and Zameer Hussain. After this, a fresh trial began against Nafees Chishti, Naseem, Iqbal Bhati, Salim Chishti and Zameer Hussain. The witnesses were again called to the court. This time 69 witnesses gave statements in the court.
The trial was going on when in 2018, another accused Sohail Ghani was arrested by the police. Once again the trial was stopped. A new charge sheet was presented in the case and the trial began again.
Finally, after the statements of 104 witnesses, the final arguments in this case were completed in the month of July 2024 and on August 20, 6 convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Filing separate charge sheets was the police’s mistake
The first charge sheet was against 8 accused and after that 4 separate charge sheets were filed against 4 accused. Even after this, the police filed 4 more charge sheets against 6 other accused. According to experts, this is where the police made the biggest mistake, due to which justice has not been done in the case even after 32 years.
The police had to file a new chargesheet every time a new accused was arrested. The trial that was already underway was stopped and a fresh trial was conducted. Due to this, the victims and witnesses had to come to the court again and again to give the same statement.
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