Ajmer Sex Scandal: 32 years later, spine-chilling details continue to rock India

The Ajmer sex scandal that shook the country in 1992 is back in the news after six people involved in the matter were given life sentences on Tuesday (Aug 20). A special court on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act delivered the verdict in the sensational case. Judge Ranjan Singh also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on each convict. The six sentenced on Tuesday are - Chishti Nafees Chishti, Naseem alias Tarzan, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Ghani and Syed Zameer Hussain. Of the total 18 accused, eight were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998.

What is the Ajmer sex scandal?

In the early 1990s, over 100 school-going girls aged 11-20 faced sexual abuse in Ajmer in a series of gang rapesand blackmailing. The abuse reportedly started at a local school in the city. A young girl was lured and trapped by a man named Farooq Chishti who was a Youth Congress leader at that time and flaunted his wealth and power. Farooq and Nafees Chishti, the two main accused, promised to make her part of the Congress.

She later testified that the duo groomed and sexually assaulted her. They took obscene pictures of the girl and then blackmailed her. Farooq demanded the girl bring another girl in, or else he would leak her picture. This set off a chain reaction to which hundreds of girls fell victim. They were taken to remote farmhouses and bungalows where they were raped by several men. They were photographed in objectionable ways to prevent them from speaking out.

A report titled Daughters of Big Leaders are Victims of Blackmail puts the number of those victimised at over 250. The girls belonged to different schools and were blackmailed by men who wielded political and financial influence.

How did the matter come to light?

The news of the abuse first came out when staff at the photo lab where the pictures were developed leaked them. The pictures started circulating in the city. Some girls even reached out to the police. However, they started receiving threatening calls. The photos then reached Santosh Gupta, a journalist, who first published the story in a local newspaper, Dainik Navjyoti, in April 1992. The then-Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, issued strict orders to punish everyone involved.

However, all hell broke loose after Gupta published another report titled 'How did those who blackmail girl students remain free? on May 15, 1992. He included blurred images of the girls and Ajmer came to a standstill soon after due to public outcry.

Victims and their families

The abused girls and their families faced harassment and were threatened not to speak about the matter. Some of them even left Ajmer, while at least six girls are reported to have died by suicide. Reports suggest that some small-time tabloids got their hands on the photos and further threatened the families and asked for money.

Ajmer sex scandal investigation

An FIR was filed by the Ajmer District Police Administration under the then Deputy Superintendent Hariprasad Sharma. It read, "In Ajmer, schoolgirls were somehow trapped, and obscene photographs were taken. After that, they were blackmailed as well and sexually abused. Along with this, information has been received that the gang is pressing the girls to bring others in the net."

It was later revealed that BJP leader Veer Kumar and a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) office bearer had alerted the police about the abuse long before Gupta published the report. The matter also triggered communal tensions since those involved in the exploitation were all Muslim men.

The editor of the newspaper admitted that local law enforcement authorities knew about the abuse for almost a year. However, they decided to publish the report after no action was taken. An FIR was filed against the eight accused. Another main accused, Syed Almas, ran away from the country and is a fugitive and wanted in India.

As the case went to trial, several victims backed out. Only a handful turned up and only a few stood by their statement. Their wounds keep re-opening every time a fresh development takes place in the case.

(With inputs from agencies)