Ajmer sex scandal: Pocso court hands life sentence to 6 more accused in 1992 case

NEW DELHI:A Pocso court in Jaipur on Tuesday handed life sentences to six men involved in the notorious Ajmer sex scandal, where over 100 girls were subjected to rape and blackmail. The court, presided over by Judge Ranjan Singh, also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on each of the convicted individual.

The Ajmer sex scandal, which surfaced in 1992, involved the exploitation of school and college girls aged between 11 and 20 by a gang that lured them, photographed them in compromising situations, and then sexually assaulted them. The case implicated 18 individuals.

Approximately 100 young women fell victim to blackmail after their explicit photographs were circulated following incidents of molestation. The harassment and torment drove six of these girls to take their own lives.

The first charge sheet named 12 of the accused, with one, Naseem alias Tarzan, going into hiding in 1994, and another, Jahur Chishti, being found guilty under Section 377 (unnatural sex), leading to his case being transferred to another court.

Farooq Chishti's trial was conducted separately due to his schizophrenia diagnosis, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007. One of the accused committed suicide, while eight others received life sentences in 1998.

The second charge sheet was issued against Nafees Chishti, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Gani, Sayed Zameer Hussain, and Almas, who remains at large.

On Tuesday, the remaining five—Nafees Chishti, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Gani, Sayed Zameer Hussain, and another accused, Naseem alias Tarzan, who was mentioned in the first charge sheet but had gone into hiding—were sentenced to life imprisonment. The other accused, who had previously been sentenced, have either served their time or been acquitted by the courts.

According to the lawyer, a separate trial was held for these six individuals because the investigation against them was incomplete when the first charge sheet was filed.

The victims, who were students at a well-known private school in Ajmer, were lured to a farmhouse where they were raped.

(with input from agency)
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