It was in 1992 that the small town of Ajmer in Rajasthan woke up to newspaper reports of a massive sexual assault and blackmailing scandal. Blurred pictures of naked girls were published by a newspaper called ‘Navjyoti’. Most of these girls were Hindus, who were sexually assaulted by the aristocratic ‘Khadims’ of Ajmer. Khadims are the families of traditional caretakers of the Ajmer Dargah, and they claim to be the direct descendants of the first followers of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty. They command heavy political and social influence in Ajmer, and visitors to the dargah still kiss their hands.
It’s been 30 years since the massive scandal first broke. Today, most of the accused are roaming free, are out on bail or have ended up serving insufficient jail terms. The police and administration in Ajmer knew very well that there was a bustling sex-and-blackmail racket underway in the town. However, they failed to act against the ‘Chistis’. You might ask why? Well, it was done to preserve secularism. The police had stalled the case because the local politicians warned that any action against the accused would lead to massive communal tensions.
30 Years On; Accused Roam Free
After the story of the scandal broke, it became impossible for the police and administration to not take action. As a result of their action, tensions spiked in the town, and a three-day bandh was called too. Eighteen people were named as the accused overall, out of which one died by suicide in 1994. The first eight suspects to go to trial were sentenced to life in prison by the district sessions court in 1998, but the Rajasthan High Court acquitted four in 2001 and the Supreme Court reduced the sentences of the rest to ten years in 2003.
Farooq Chishty, one of the main accused who also happened to be a youth Congress leader, was declared mentally unstable. Currently, six of the accused — Nafis Chishty, Iqbal Bhat, Saleem Chishty, Sayed Jamir Hussain, Naseem aka Tarzan, and Suhail Ghani — are undergoing trial in POCSO court, but they are all out on bail. Suhail Ghani had surrendered in 2018.
The sex and blackmail scandal involved hundreds of young college and school-going girls, who have been scarred for lives. One among them shouted in the POCSO court in Ajmer. She said, “Why are you still calling me to court again and again? It has been 30 years!” She added, “I am now a grandmother, leave me alone. We have families. What do we tell them?” The court was stunned into silence.
Read more: The Heroic Resistance of Rajputs to the Onslaught of Islamic Invaders
Over the decades, the courts summoned the survivors every time an accused surrendered or was arrested. The police have been landing at the doorsteps of many victims, and now, such women are horrified at the sight of policemen. What’s worse, the court has to record the survivor’s testimony in the presence of the accused, which forces the victims to continuously keep reliving the horrifying past.
All these years, the case has moved from one court to the other, beginning with the district court to the Rajasthan High Court, Supreme Court, Fast Track Court, Women Atrocities Court, and is currently in Ajmer’s POCSO court.
Over the years, excessive witness and evidence tampering has weakened the case against the accused. Now, the victims have little hope for justice, while the duo of Muslim brothers accused of orchestrating the scandal live a lavish life with no remorse whatsoever.
Graphic by: The Print