POCSO court sentences 6 to life imprisonment in 1992 Ajmer sex abuse cases

The Ajmer sex scandal had come to light in 1992. The case involved the systematic blackmail and sexual abuse of hundreds of girls at the hands of powerful, politically well-connected individuals, some of whom had ties with the Sufi Dargah in the town.

While 18 people were accused in the case, a separate trial was conducted for these six accused. The other accused have either completed their term or been acquitted by the courts, with one still absconding. On the delay in the conviction and sentencing of these six, Singh said that the witnesses as well as the victims changed the addresses over the years, with some victims even changing their names, making it difficult to track them.

In 1998, a sessions court in Ajmer had sentenced eight men to life imprisonment but the Rajasthan High Court, in 2001, acquitted four of them.

In 2003, the Supreme Court reduced the sentences of four other convicts, Moijullah alias Puttan, Ishrat Ali, Anwar Chishty and Shamshuddin alias Meradona, to 10 years. One accused, Syed Almas Maharaj, is absconding and is believed to be out of the country. The CBI had issued a red corner notice against him.