Geeta is one of the victims of the Ajmer rape case (1992) which is considered one of the most reprehensible crimes in India. It happened in Ajmer city of Rajasthan in which hundreds of young girls (mainly Hindu) were sexually assaulted and blackmailed.
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Ajmer rape case (1992)
The 1992 Ajmer serial gang rape and blackmailing case is considered one of the most heinous crimes in India. Navjyoti, a local newspaper, reported the scam after publishing some nude photos and reports of school students being blackmailed by local gangs. During the investigation of the case the police came under political pressure as the main accused Farooq Chishti (चिष्टी) was the President of Ajmer Indian Youth Congress and Khadim of Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The court eventually charged 18 serial offenders; Four of the eight were acquitted in 2001 after being sentenced to life imprisonment. Many comparisons have been made between this case and the Rotherham child sexual abuse scandal, which took place in the town of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, northern England, from the late 1980s to the 2010s.
Ajmer rape case victim
Geeta was also one of the victims of this case. When Geeta was studying in class 12 at Savitri Girls Government Primary School in Ajmer, Rajasthan, she decided to join the Congress party, she also wanted a gas connection to her home. At that time it was not very common to have a gas connection in the house. When Geeta shared this with one of her classmate Ajay, he took advantage of her situation. They asked him to meet a man named Farooq Chishti, who was then the president of the Ajmer Youth Congress. Unaware of the intentions of Farooq and his brother Nafees, Geeta agreed to meet them. Slowly, Farooq began to trust Geeta.
Ajmer rape case 1992 convicts
Since everything seemed normal, Geeta was not worried when Nafees and Farooq, whom she knew, stopped her in their van on her way to school and offered a lift. He accepted their proposal without any doubt. However, instead of taking her to school as promised, the men took her to a farmhouse. Farooq and Nafees then brutally rape her and even take objectionable photographs of her, which Farooq and Nafees use to blackmail her. They used to pressure him to bring other girls to their farmhouse on Foy Sagar Road. They blackmailed her that if she did not do so, they would make her private pictures public.
A picture of one of the victims of the Ajmer rape case
Gita’s testimony
Geeta’s testimony in the 2003 Supreme Court judgment provides details about her experience of sexual harassment and subsequent blackmail by the Chishti duo and their associates. According to Geeta, she along with her classmate Ajay had met Nafees and Farooq several times. They approached her in their Maruti van as she walked towards the bus stand, assuring her that they would help her secure a position in the Congress party. His aide Syed Anwar Chishti later gave him a form to fill and requested a passport size photograph from him. During her testimony, Geeta mentioned that she believed the farmhouse affair was for discussion regarding her possible entry into the Congress. However, as soon as she was alone with Nafees, he forcibly assaulted her and threatened to kill her if his demands were not met. After several days, Nafees again confronted her and reiterated that she would face dire consequences if she told anyone about the assault. Under duress, Geeta was forced to build trust with the intention of introducing the men to other girls, presenting them as her brothers and persuading these girls to attend parties at the farmhouse or Farooq’s bungalow on Foy Sagar Road.
The farmhouse where girls were raped in Ajmer 92 case
Later, many of these women became victims of sexual assault by one or more men. The perpetrators often photographed the attacks and blackmailed them. Dalbir Singh, a source in the case, commented on how the media sensationalized the situation by emphasizing that the victims were daughters of IAS-IPS officers. He clarified that one of the victims was the daughter of a Rajasthan civil service officer and the other was the daughter of an agriculture officer, such details should not detract from the gravity and seriousness of the crimes committed. During Geetha’s testimony, she narrated how the criminals pressurized her to find other girls for their sexual advantage. She falls into their trap and befriends a girl named Krishnabala, who becomes Farooq’s victim.
Farooq Chishti, the main accused in the 1992 Ajmer rape case
In the 1990s, when Geeta was studying at Savitri Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Ajmer, Rajasthan, she met Krishnabala, who lived in a rented house in Civil Lines, Ajmer. Over time, they become best friends. Krishnabala had no idea that Farooq and Nafees had molested Geetha and that Geetha’s role was to bring more women into their group, or else her nude pictures would have become public. During Geeta’s testimony, she shared a tragic incident from the initial phase of the gang rape incidents. Geetha and Krishnabala approach a police constable for help. The constable then introduced him to an officer of the Special Branch of the Ajmer Police. He asked for help in retrieving the blackmailed photos. Soon, he began receiving threatening phone calls, questioning his decision to involve the police. Geeta told that the constable once asked her and Krishnabala to walk with him in the dargah area to take photographs. When the constables stopped at some distance, a gang member named Moizullah, also known as Puttan Allahabadi, came to them. He cryptically remarked that he had played a similar game before. They were unable to recover the photos. It was observed that people visiting the dargah used to show respect to the Chishti family by kissing their hands. This religious influence was used to gain political power. Journalist Santosh Gupta recalled incidents when various officials, from superintendents of police to station house officers, would approach the Chishti family to discuss filing reports or issuing appeals. The Chishti family seemed to have a certain authority which made it difficult for others to deny their requests. Meanwhile, the women’s worst fears came true when some employees of the photo lab where the photos of the attack were printed circulated the photos, further escalating the abuse. If there was any positive result, it was that it attracted the attention of the public. Later, reporter Santosh Gupta shared that a reel developer named Purushottam had claimed about sexually explicit photographs after seeing his neighbor Devendra Jain looking at a pornographic magazine. Purushottam had sarcastically,
This is nothing. I’ll show you the real stuff.
The mention of the real thing alarmed Devendra, who made copies of the pictures and sent them to the daily Navjyoti newspaper and the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) group. The VHP workers then handed over the photographs to the police, which began the investigation. Meanwhile, on 21 April 1992, Gupta wrote his first report about sexual abuse in the daily Navjyoti. However, there was little to no reaction until the newspaper published a second report on 15 May 1992, which included blurred images of nude photographs of survivors. This publication immediately caused an uproar.
A newspaper cutting of Ajmer rape case 1992
On 18 May 1992, the entire city of Ajmer came to a halt due to public anger over the matter. In her 2005 testimony, Krishnabala recalled that the victim used to mention her five Muslim brothers who seemed lenient. However, things took a turn for the worse when she received an invitation to a normal party. When they reached a poultry farm in Hatundi, on the outskirts of Ajmer, Nafees and another key gang member, Ishrat Ali, were already there. Krishnabala said that Ali had raped her that day. Later Ishrat left the house at 5 pm warning him and said,
If you tell anyone about this, I will defame you. You have to come whenever called, otherwise I may do the same to your sister.”
Krishnabala returned home and washed her blood-stained clothes. Then the continuous process of blackmail started. He was repeatedly called and threatened to be exposed. She was called to Farooq’s bungalow on Foy Sagar Road in Ajmer, where she was raped by four men: Nafees Chishti, Anwar Chishti, Salim Chishti and Ishrat Ali. In the next eight months, she faced 25 incidents of gang rape.
media coverage and investigation
In April 1992, a report was published by Dinabandhu Chowdhary, editor of Ajmer’s local newspaper Navjyoti. The report exposed a system of deception and exploitation. According to Chowdhary, local law enforcement officials stopped the investigation, despite knowing about the scam a year before the story came to light. He said local politicians tried to stall legal action saying the accusers came from influential “khadim” (caretaker) families of the dargah and legal action would lead to inter-communal tension. They said,
It was difficult to decide whether to publish the pictures or not.”
Deenbandhu Chowdhary, editor of Navjyoti
Chowdhary said he eventually decided to pursue the story as it was the only way to prompt the local administration to act. They said,
Ultimately, we decided to go ahead as it was the only way to wake up the administration and the police from their slumber.”
Soon after Chowdhury’s report was published, news of the incident sent shockwaves across the city and angered citizens staged a public demonstration during a three-day shutdown. Forced to act due to public pressure, the BJP government ordered an inquiry, but state BJP secretary Onkar Singh Lakhotia admitted,
The action has come too late.”
Following this report, many stories of widespread blackmail and exploitation began to emerge. Ultimately, eight accused were charged in the FIR registered by the police. A total of 18 people were arrested in the investigation and tensions remained high in the city for several days. As retired DGP Omendra Bhardwaj, former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ajmer, said, many victims were prevented from coming forward because of the social class of the accused. A sobering realization was that many of the victims, who were young and vulnerable, had already taken their own lives. What happened next was another tale of political influence and inefficiency of administration. Subsequently, many victims who were supposed to testify turned hostile and only a few victims came forward. Reportedly, the case is still open.
the quiet suffering of the afflicted
Many of the victims were daughters of IAS officers or IPS officers, and most of them were from affluent Hindu families. In this horrific case, the victims had to suffer in silence, which has been the most disturbing part. Many rape victims experienced harassment and intimidation after the rape, without support from social groups or family members. As per the police investigation, around six victims are alleged to have committed suicide. As a result of the threats, the Ajmer women’s group backed out from taking up the cause of the victims. In Ajmer, during that time local newspapers had created a lot of sensation. Many victims were also allegedly blackmailed by these tabloids and local newspapers after being exploited, further tarnishing the city’s consciousness. Having access to explicit photographs of the girls, the owners and publishers demanded money from the girls’ families to hide them.
in popular media
In 2007, author Anuradha Marwah released a book titled ‘Dirty Picture’, based on the events of the Ajmer rape case (1992).
dirty Picture
In 2023, a Hindi film titled ‘Ajmer 92’ based on the Ajmer rape case was released. Geeta Singh’s role in the film was loosely based on Geeta’s character and was played by Indian actress Sumit Singh.
A still of Sumit Singh as Geeta from the Hindi film Ajmer 92
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn