with the story because that seemed to be the only way to prod the local administration into action. Finally, the police lodged an FIR against eight of the accused. Further investigations led to 18 men in total being charged and tensions ran high in the town for several days. People took to the streets to protest and tension in the community grew. A three-day bandh was imposed and subsequent news of the widespread exploitation and blackmail started coming in. Retired Rajasthan DGP Omendra Bhardwaj, who was the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Ajmer at that time, stated that the social and financial aristocracy of the accused stopped many more victims from coming forward. Another grim realization was that many of the victims, being young and vulnerable, had already committed suicide. The case is still far from being closed. Many victims who were supposed to be witnesses turned hostile. The number of victims was believed to be several hundred. The Rajasthan police's Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested Saiyed Saleem Chishtee, 42, one of the accused from Khalid Mohalla in Ajmer town on 4 January 2012. Accused charged All of the 19 accused were charged with abduction. The main accused Farooq Chishtee was President of the Ajmer Youth Congress. Nafis Chishtee was the Vice-President of Ajmer Indian National Congress and Anwar Chishtee was the Joint Secretary of Ajmer Indian National Congress. Moijullah (alias Puttan), Ishrat Ali, Anwar Chishtee, and Shamshuddin (alias Meradona) were also sentenced by the court. Absconder Suhail Chishtee hid for 26 years before surrendering. Absconder Salim Chishtee was arrested in 2012. Another main accused, Alamas, is still a fugitive. Trial According to the police and women-focused NGOs, it was difficult to build a case against the perpetrators, as most victims were reluctant to come forward. However, the photographs and videos used to blackmail the victims helped identify the accused and build the case against them. Thirty victims were identified in the investigations. Out of these, only about a dozen filed cases, and ten later backed out. Only two victims pursued the case. Of the 18 accused who were charged with abduction and gang rape under the Indian Penal Code and Indecent Representation of Women, one has since committed suicide. In 2013, the Rajasthan High Court upheld the decision though it reduced the period of the sentence from life imprisonment to the period already served by him. In 2004,