Ajmer Sex Scandal Case: The POCSO court convicted six persons in connection with a scandal that happened 32 years ago in Ajmer and awarded them life imprisonment on August 20, 2024. The court further levied a fine of ₹5 lakh on each of the convicted individuals in the case. The six convicted are Nafees Chishti, Nasim Ahmed aka Tarzan, Saleem Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Ghani, and Syed Zameer Hussain. All six were present in the court at the time of sentencing.

Case Background

The scandal by Farooq Chishti, a high-ranking Youth Congress leader along with Nafees and Anwar Chishti, for really heinous crimes. Farooq, being the president of the Youth Congress, and his associates yielded great influence due to their intimacy with the custodians of the local dargah. Most of the victim girls were Hindus, and many of the accused were Muslim males.

Details of the Convicts

Nafees Chishti: He, at the time of the commission of the crime, was holding an office as vice president of the Youth Congress city branch. He at that time was around 25-28 years old and influential due to his family’s connection with the dargah. He is now 54 years old.

Nasim Ahmed aka Tarzan: Nasim was a close friend of Nafees and Farooq Chishti. He had been accused of gang-raping several girls. He was 23 years old at the time of the scandal and is now 55 years old.

Also Read: Ajmer Sex Scandal: POCSO Court Awards Life Imprisonment to 6 Accused

Saleem Chishti: Saleem was yet another close friend of Farooq and Nafees who had links with the Dargah custodians. He is currently 55 years old and was 23 years old at the time of committing the crime.

Iqbal Bhati: Iqbal has spent 3.5 years in jail during the trial. He was 20 at the time of the scandal and  is presently  52 years old.

Sohail Ghani: Sohail has spent 1.5 years in jail already before this sentencing. He was 21 years old during the scandal and is presently  53 years old.

Syed Zameer Hussain: He was a co-accused in the crimes and was a close confidant of the Youth Congress leaders. At the time, he was 28 years old; he is now 60 years old.

Previous Court Rulings

The fast-track court awarded life imprisonment to all the 18 accused on 18 May 1998. The High Court acquitted four of them on July 20, 2001. The Supreme Court further reduced their sentence to ten years on 19 December 2003. One of the accused, Almas Maharaj, is still absconding.

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