Farooq Chisti, the president of the Youth Congress in Ajmer (Rajasthan), took obscene photos of a female student from Sophia Senior Secondary School. He intimidated the girl that if she didn't obey him, her photos would be spread among the masses. His demand: Introduce more girls to Farooq and his gang. So is what happened and with it began the gloomy episode called Ajmer Mass Rapes.
The biggest highlight of these mass rapes – the prime rapist men were Muslims and the victim girls were from other caste and creed. The number of raped girls reached hundreds in the following months. The total estimated number is around 1000. All girls were minors and young women aged between 11 to 20. Raping and then photographing the victims was a tool to ensure the victims bring more girls. Many of the rapes happened at a farmhouse.
This case is horrifying as well as sad in multiple ways. The prime rapist men possessed social, political, and financial power. Farooq and Nafees were with Youth Congress and another accomplice Anwar Chisti was the joint secretary of Congress. These men and their political support intimidated and harassed the victims and their families post-rapes. The fear was so intense that very few victims gathered the courage to file FIRs. Several victims committed suicide. Equally sad is the fact that some victims eventually stood in the path of justice. When we need the police the most, they give their weapons up and lie flat on the ground. Exactly what happened here. The police feared acting against the criminals and chose to ignore the crimes for a year. The rapists intimidated the victims and their families, and many girls refused to come forward to report or testify against them.
The news about rapes and intimidation was spreading, but the local police were on the payroll of the politicians behind the rape gang. It was one man who stood up – Dinabandhu Choudhary, the editor of the local magazine Navjyoti. His attempts to bring the case to light were failing since the police willingly ignored the crimes. The arrests began when Dinabandhu targeted the police in his magazine. The photos of the crimes taken by the rapists were the biggest evidence. Some of these photos were exposed to the public. After a year of ignorance, the police registered the first FIR against 8 people. Further investigation revealed the names of 18 people. Citizens took to the streets and demanded justice.
The former Deputy Inspector General of Police stated that many victims refused to come forward due to the fear of the criminals. Some victims stood against the justice that was meant to save them.
Farooq, Nafees, Salim, Suhail, Anwar, Moizullah, Ishrat Ali, and Shamshuddin were prime rape gang members. 18 men were presented in court and 8 were sentenced to life imprisonment. But Farooq was released in 2013.[1]
Salim Chisti was arrested in 2012 after absconding for 20 years. Suhail Chisti surrendered after 26 years. Another accused Almas is still absconding.
Footnotes [1] Ajmer rape case - Wikipedia
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