Ajmer Sex Scandal: POCSO Court Hands Down Life Sentences to Six After 32 Years

The scandal involved a series incidents of gang rape and exploitation of over 100 school and college girls aged 11 to 20.
On August 20, a special court in Rajasthan convicted and sentenced six individuals to life imprisonment for their involvement in the 1992 Ajmer sex scandal.

The scandal entailed a series of gang rapes and exploitation incidents involving more than 100 school and college girls, aged 11 to 20.

The convicts—Nafees Chishti, Naseem alias Tarzan, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Ghani, and Syed Zameer Hussain—would befriend girls from a private school and college in Ajmer, take their photographs, and blackmail them into visiting a remote farmhouse where they were sexually assaulted.

The victims were pressured into bringing their friends, who then became trapped in the gang’s activities.

Judge Ranjan Singh explained that, given the seriousness of the crime and the prosecution’s arguments, it was right to punish all six accused.

The court also fined each convict ₹5 lakh.

“In the result, the accused Nafees alias Syed Nafeesuddin, Mohammad Iqbal Ajmeri, Salim Chishti, Sohail Ghani and Syed Zameer Hussain are convicted under Section 120B, 376 of the Indian Penal Code and the accused Naseem alias Tarzan is convicted under Section 120B, 376 read with Section 37 of the Indian Penal Code,” the Court ordered.

The Court also instructed the District Legal Services Authority to adjust any compensation already provided to the victims under any scheme by the District Legal Services Authority or the Central and State Government against the compensation amount determined by the Court.

Additionally, the Court acknowledged that the delay in the case was caused by the prolonged absence of the accused.

“The investigation began when the first accused, Nafees Chishti, appeared on 20.04.2003, and was only completed after the final accused, Sohail Ghani, appeared on 17.02.2018, causing the extended timeline,” it added.