On 20th August, Monday, the 6 accused in the country's biggest sex scandal that took place 32 years ago in Ajmer were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Vidhansabha court. Along with this, a fine of Rs. 5 lakh each was also imposed on them. Courtneyfees Vashisht (54), Naseem Uttam Dattin (55), Salim Vashisht (55), Iqbal Bhai (52), Sohail Ghani (53), Syed Amir Hussain (60) were sentenced to life imprisonment. All the 6 accused were present in the court during the hearing. One accused Iqbal Bhai was brought to Ajmer from Delhi in an ambulance. All of them were between 20 and 28 years old at the time of the scandal.
What is the real story of Ajmer 92 ?
On 21 April 1992, the newspaper Dainik Navjyoti made a big disclosure that school students were blackmailed by clicking their nude photos and a big disclosure was made that they were being exploited.
Daughters of rich people were victims of blackmail That heading was shaken the people.
After which it came to light that in Amra, people from influential families had lured more than 100 girls from schools and colleges (different numbers have been given in different newspapers) into their trap and sexually exploited them. It was claimed that many of these girls were also gang-raped. However, due to lack of information at that time, efforts were made to suppress this matter. Be it the leaders, the police, the administration, the government, or the people associated with social, religious and municipal service organizations, everyone was stunned. How did this happen? Who is it? With whom did this happen? What should we do now? How should we do it? Though it was not the time of social media, but it did not take much time for the news to spread like wildfire.
When did you come to know about the scandal?
Deenabandhu Choudhary, Chief Editor of jyot , who exposed the blackmailing scandal in Ajmer, says that in 1992, one of our reporters Santosh Gupta came with a news and published it, but nobody paid attention to that news, although it was a very serious news. Then he came to me and informed me about this scandal.
He told me - There was a Bharosa Laboratory in Anaar Mandi of Ajmer. Work on the creation of films was done there.
I was standing near that lab when a person came and bought 4 reels, but he gave four times the amount in exchange for that reel. Seeing this I was shocked and started thinking what was so special in that reel? A friend of mine was there with me, I wanted to know the story behind it from him. At first he refused, but due to my insistence he gave me 4 reels. When I saw that reel, it had rape videos and photos of girls. When I heard all this, I asked the reporter Santosh to print this new photo in the news. I took such a step because it was necessary to end such a terrible scandal. However, we put a black strip on the private parts in the photo and printed everything else. When this news came to the people the next day, there was a huge uproar. As soon as this news came to the fore, all the lawyers of the Bar Association gathered and went to the SP and the Collector. Then they demanded action in this matter. Legal action was initiated by this step of theirs.
How did the video and photo leaking begin?
The accused gave the photo reel to the lab for development, from where the new photos were leaked. On seeing the new photos, the lab employees' intentions got corrupted. Through them, the photos reached the market. The master prints were with a few people, but their copies started circulating in the city. Whoever got hold of these photos, he also started blackmailing the girls.
Meanwhile, one by one, 6 girls from the college committed suicide. People came to know about this scandal only after the news was published in Navjyot, but it started in 1990 itself.
Who are the culprits?
The real culprit of this scandal was a Congress leader and Khavdam (servant) of Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The masterminds were Khavdam Farooq Vachishti, President of Youth Congress of Ajmer city, Khavdam Nafees Vachishti and Khavdam Anwar Vachishti.
Did the police know about all this?
Before the stain on the pride and identity of Ajmer was published in the newspapers, the Ajmer Police Administration had found out in a confidential investigation that many young and rich people from the Khavdam-e-Khwah (Khwad) families of the Dargah of the Sufi Saint Khwah Moinuddin Hasan Vashti of Ajmer were involved in the gang. Not only this, the police also found out that politically these young men are also office bearers of the Congress and are wealthy. The police administration of the village knew very well that if any action is taken against anyone without the victims coming in front of them, then there will be a big risk to maintaining peace and law and order in the city. And even if they manage to maintain peace and law and order, who knows how many influential and reputed families' children will be affected. Which police and administrative officers or high ranking political representatives of the city are connected with this? After much deliberation, the local police administration informed the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan Government, BJP's Bhairon Singh Shekhawat about the situation.
What action was taken after the news was published?
Even after about a fortnight of the first news being published in the newspaper about blackmailing schoolgirls through obscene photos, the district police and administration did not take any concrete action. After this, young journalist Sandesh Gupta published another news with the title "How did the people who blackmailed the girl students survive?"
What police reveal after investigation?
In the first report, Harir Prasad Sharma, being a confidential investigation officer, analysed those four obscene photographs and submitted a report. It was written in it that "In Ajmer, school girls were somehow trapped in the net and their obscene photographs were taken. After this, they were blackmailed and sexually exploited. Also, it has been learnt that the gang is pressurising them to bring other girls along with them.'' The report also stated that the gang comprises socially, politically and religiously influential youth. On the basis of photographs, the investigation officer also shared with the police the identity of two-three victims and indicated that the names of other culprits may also come to light if the case is further investigated. The very next day after the report was filed by the Ajmer Villa Police, Senior IPS Officer N.K. Parni reached Ajmer with his entire team and took over the investigation and started the investigation from 31 May 1992. When the investigation started, the gang included Youth Congress city president and dargah caretaker Farooq Vachisti of Vachisti family, vice-president Nafees Vachisti, joint secretary Anwar Vachisti, close relative of East Congress MLA Almas Maharaj, Ishrat Ali, Iqbal Khan, Salim, Aamir, Sohail Ghani, Putin Allahabadi, Naseem Ahmad Uttam , Parvez Ansari, Mohabbatullah Uttam Maradona, Kailash Soni, Mahesh Luhani, Purushottam Uttam, John Wesley Uttam and Harish Tolani. Names came forward.
How did this case come to light?
Harish Tolani, one of the accused, was the manager of Amer Colour Lab. The accused Nafees Vashti, Vice President of Youth Congress and Sohelgani used to bring nude reels of sexual exploitation with female students to get them printed. The photo prints used to come to the lab through the owner of the Colour Lab Ghanshyam Bhurani.
According to the information, Purohit used to make prints without saving the reels. This is the person through whom nude pornographic photos of school girls were first taken out of Color Lab to teach a lesson to the criminals and to stop Muslim youths from sexually exploiting the girls. He first reached an accused and then through a lawyer he reached BJP leader Veer Kumar. This made the criminals alert and they caught hold of the throat of Color Lab owner Nishayam Bhuvani who had leaked the evidence. Then the matter started to unfold like the petals of a cup.
It is said that CID CB acted under political pressure while investigating. This is why the owner, developer and manager of Vis Photo Lab could have been made government witnesses, but the owner was left out and the manager and developer were made criminals. Ultimately, frustrated and distressed by being made a criminal despite having a good intention and being constantly harassed by criminals, Purushottam committed suicide along with his wife a few days after being released on bail. Many of the girls whose photographs were taken in the scandal started ending their lives by committing suicide. In those days, suddenly one after the other, about ten girls committed suicide. The most painful thing in this incident was that neither the society nor the family members came forward for these girls, this proved to be a sad link in the whole case.
Did all the girls get justice?
On the basis of the victim girls, around 16-17 accused have been identified. All the accused have been arrested except Almas Maharaj. Almas Maharaj is said to be abroad in the US. At present, the trials of all the accused in the case have been completed except five accused Sohail Ghani, Iqbal, Aamir, Salim. Those whose trials have not been completed are on bail.
More than 100 of these girls have still not got justice. The case is still pending in the court. The girls who were molested are between 50 and 54 years of age, but they still want justice. The main accused in this case was caught in 2018. It is alleged that in the blackmail case of Amravati, Farooq, Nafees Kessan Anwar, Moiullah Uttam Puttan Allahabadi, Salim, Shamsuddin, Suhailgani, Kailash Soni, Maheshludani, Purushottam, Harish Tolani etc. used to take the girls to a farmhouse and a poly farm for sexual exploitation. They used to sexually exploit them and blackmail them with obscene pictures.
9 out of 18 accused were tried earlier
▪These 4 were given life imprisonment, but were acquitted by High Court: Irri Ali, Anwar Mishti, Shaheed Patan Allahabadi, Masood Ufaiz Hazrat Nizamuddin. They were sentenced in 2003, all of them are on release.
▪These 4 were given life imprisonment, but were acquitted by High Court: Parvez Ansari, Sheh Ladhuani, Harim Kolani, Kailash Soni. They were given life imprisonment by lower court in 1998. The High Court had released them. The ninth accused Farooq Vachitti was sentenced to life imprisonment by the lower court in 2007. In 2013, the High Court released him on the same sentence. In this way, nine accused have been sentenced.
▪One has committed suicide: Purushottam Ufax Babli has committed suicide during the 1994 riots. He came out on bail. He committed suicide by shooting at a mosque in Jahuri. He was released in 1997.
Sentences have been issued to these 6: Sohail Ghani, Nafees Vashisht, Amir Hussain, Salim Vashisht, Iqbal Bhai, Naseem Uttam Darin.
▪One accused still absconding: Almas Mahara is still absconding. A raid counter notice has been issued against him.
6 convicts were sentenced to jail for many years, out of which Saleem Machhi has been sentenced to 8 years, Naseem Ushajan has been sentenced to 3 and a half years, Nafees Machhi has been sentenced to 8 and a half years, Sohail Ghani has been sentenced to 1 and a half years, Iqbal Bhai has already been sentenced to 3 and a half years. Whereas, Jinnah Hussain and Simsperi were out on bail. Their lawyer Ajay Verma told that he will appeal in the High Court. Parole was sought for Iqbal Bhai, which was rejected by the court. Now the jail administration itself will get Iqbal treated in JLN of Ajmer.
Post a Comment