-By Rudrangshi Saha
As the gullies of Bengal ignite with the cries of "Ar Kotodin Bichaarhin?" (How Much Longer Must We Wait for Justice?), one thing stands painfully clear- the Indian Judicial System thrives on a timeline that bends to no one's suffering.
Thirty-two long, agonizing years later, the victims of the infamous Ajmer Sex Scandal have finally been granted "justice"—but can we even call it that? What kind of justice demands its victims to wait for decades, shuddering in fear, while predators roam free? This case might be 32 years old, but its internet version is still rampant.
Recently, the POCSO court arrested six accused from this harrowing case: Sohail Ghani, Salim Chisti, Nafees Chisti, Zameer Hussain, Naseem alias Tarzan, and Iqbal Ajmeri. But who were these men? What did they do that not only shattered lives but rattled an entire nation?
Let me take you back to 1989, Ajmer—a city revered for its religious sanctity. A handful of boys born into privileged and powerful families decided to turn their vile whims into someone else's nightmare. They invited a young boy to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Ajmer. And for what? For a little “fun.” They sodomized him and clicked his pictures at which, they laughed later. At that time, owning a camera was a luxury only the wealthy could afford.
However, the cruelty didn’t stop there. They twisted the boy’s misery into another form of terror: blackmail. "Bring your girlfriend here, or we’ll show the world what happened to you." The boy, desperate, brought his girlfriend. She was raped too. Pictures were clicked, again. And what did they do next? They turned her into a pawn, blackmailing her to lure in yet another victim, creating a twisted chain reaction- a reaction of heinous crimes that left over 100 girls, officially on record, violated and shattered in the span of just 3 years.
But let’s be real- this is only what made it to pen and paper. Even today, in our so-called “modern” society, rape remains a taboo topic, tangled in the mess of victim-blaming and societal shame. Now, rewind to a far more conservative time—1989. A time when speaking out was almost unthinkable for a woman, let alone a girl. In such conditions, can we even begin to fathom the number of victims who could not come forward?
For many, the courage to speak out was crushed under the weight of fear and shame. Some were driven to the point where death seemed easier than living with their scars. And for the others- they remained silent because their assailants wielded unimaginable power and influence. One of the perpetrators even threatened to decapitate a victim's brother if she dared to speak out.
Now, let’s talk about the other side of this repulsive operation—the so-called "business" of exploitation that these animals turned into a sickening trade. Over eighteen men, all of them wealthy and influential, systematically destroyed hundreds of lives for their own amusement. This was no digital age; these weren’t images mindlessly forwarded over WhatsApp. No, these explicit, humiliating pictures of innocent girls were carefully developed in photo studios and handpicked for circulation among a vile network of predators. The purpose? To belittle, blackmail, and utterly destroy these young girls’ dignity, all while laughing about it amongst themselves.
As word started to spread, people got a hint of what was going on, but the details remained a murmur- as if, it was all an open secret. The tragedy reached such immense proportions that in neighbouring villages, families refused to marry their sons to the girls of Ajmer. In their minds, these girls were now "tainted," “characterless,” and "irredeemable". Imagine—victims of the worst kind of abuse being blamed, ostracized, and branded with shame for crimes they never asked for.
But how did this abhorrent scandal come to light? It all began with a few leaked photographs from the photo studio, where these images were being developed. The images spread like wildfire, being circulated internally for “fun” and soon, the case got covered in a local newspaper called Dainik Navjyoti. Finally, in May 1992, an FIR was lodged and in September, the first chargesheet was filed. As the case began to unfold, the shockwaves were felt far beyond Ajmer.
For three long years, the city simmered with secrets, as countless girls and women suffered in silence. The masterminds behind this scandal, Farooq and Nafees Chisti, belonged to the Khadim family—the very custodians of Ajmer's holy Dargahs. The judiciary, police, and bureaucracy were all under their thumb, creating a sordid irony where those meant to uphold justice were themselves complicit in its betrayal.
Decades later, many women still continue to bear the scars of this scandal—living with guilt, trauma, and fear for crimes they never committed. The fallout was catastrophic and the stigma- fatal. Families disintegrated, marriages crumbled, and careers were destroyed.
Just think about it: despite the evidence, the viral photos, the detailed documentation, the testimonies of victims and witnesses, and the national headlines—justice took 32 years to materialize. The rapists; the perpetrators of this ghastly mockery of law and morality, managed to turn the very system designed to protect the innocent into a playground for their depravity. When the truth is as naked as the day, yet justice remains shrouded in delay and denial, what does it say about our commitment to fairness?
Now, let me paint a picture of how the system systematically dismantles the resilience of witnesses in mass rape cases. Consider this: there are four accused—A, B, C, and D. A and B are in police custody, while C and D are elusive, running away from justice. The case progresses with A and B, and the survivors are summoned to court, forced to relive their trauma. They are paraded before the court, required to identify their tormentors, and subjected to constant questioning. Just as the survivors might think their ordeal is nearing an end, C surrenders after four years. And suddenly, the survivors are dragged back into the hell they’ve been struggling to escape. They must once again face the courtroom, repeat their testimonies, and relive their nightmares. But the horrors don't stop there. Alongside this psychological torment, witnesses are subjected to harassment, blackmail, and threats. The fear of retaliation from powerful circles- often the same circles that orchestrated the crimes becomes a constant shadow, eroding their will to continue.
From an initial 100 witnesses, only 3 stood their ground, while the rest were silenced by fear, intimidation, or simply vanished from the legal proceedings. In the end, one solitary witness remained, shouldering the colossal burden of revealing the truth.
This horrifying case is that of sheer pain and systemic failure, as vividly captured by the haunting words of the survivor: "After they raped me, one of them gave me 200 rupees to buy lipstick. I didn't take the money. My heart is filled with so much pain. Even today, I cry when I think about how that one encounter destroyed my life."
Now, at 50 years old, she voices a bittersweet relief: "I finally feel like I got justice," she says. "But it cannot bring back all that I have lost."
Despite quite a few perpetrators being arrested, the online version of this scandal is still prevalent. Images of the Ajmer scandal are still circulated, still consumed. And this is not just limited to the Ajmer Sex Scandal. Today, in an age where the internet intersects with every facet of our lives, the suffering of victims is perpetuated and commodified in the most vile ways.
In the wake of any high-profile rape case like that of RG Kar or Revanna, the victim's name often becomes the new “trending search” on porn websites. The access to such videos isn't confined to the dark web; no, it has seeped into the mainstream, accessible with a few clicks. Nowadays, videos and images of sexual violence are available on platforms as seemingly benign as Instagram. A click on a story can lead to a Telegram or WhatsApp group where for a paltry sum of 200-300 rupees, one can access a trove of horrific content—videos and images of women being raped and assaulted.
The existence of such a thriving online market is sickening. An activist, disheartened by this reality, paid 500 rupees and got access to a whopping 9000 such videos, which he later reported to the police. It’s heart-wrenching to think that for the price of a few books, one can easily “enjoy” the trauma of countless victims.
This market operates with brazen openness, where secret videos are not merely leaked but actively produced, sold, and distributed. The advent of AI has further darkened this landscape, with deepfake tech allowing the creation of fabricated explicit content. There are services where one can send a photo, and for a fee, receive generated nude images of that person. This is not just about privacy invasion; it's about the weaponization of technology to further degrade and dehumanize women.
Telegram, once a tool for communication, has morphed into a hub for illegal pornography, so much so that its founder, Pavel Durov, recently faced arrest due to such implications. The sheer scale and accessibility of this content expose a system struggling to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital scene. The government's attempts to regulate and control this pervasive issue seem woefully inadequate in the face of such a rampant and sophisticated market.
The horror of this situation is not just in the exploitation itself but in the impotence of our regulatory frameworks to combat it. As these predators grow bolder, and the technologies they exploit become more advanced, we are left grappling with a nightmare where justice and protection seem inherently out of reach. How can we even consider ourselves to be “progressive” when the tools meant to connect us are instead enabling the most gruesome forms of exploitation?
In conclusion, the central issue of sexual violence and exploitation extends far beyond the availability of explicit content or the shortcomings of our legal and regulatory systems. It’s a deeply ingrained patriarchy and a mindset that perpetuates dominance and dehumanization. Many rapes stem from a desire by perpetrators to assert power and control, revealing a fundamental societal failure to respect and uphold the dignity of women. How long will we continue to blame external factors while ignoring the pervasive norms that enable such atrocities? Until we confront and dismantle the patriarchal attitudes that fuel this violence, true justice and equality will remain elusive.
यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता:। यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सर्वास्तत्राफला: क्रिया:।। Where women are honored, divinity blossoms; where they are dishonored, all actions remain unfruitful.
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