The Ajmer rape case involved the serial rapes and blackmailing of girls by local gang in Ajmer, Rajasthan in 1992. It is one of sexual exploitation scandals. The scandal involved young girls. The news of the scandal broke after a local paper, ‘Dainik Navajyoti’ published some nude images and a story about school students being blackmailed by local gangs. The investigation of the case was stalled by police under political pressure as the main accused, Farooq Chishtee, belonging to the Khadims of Ajmer Sharif Dargah, was president of the Ajmer Indian Youth Congress. Eventually, 18 serial offenders were charged in court. 8 were convicted for life and 4 among them were later acquitted in 2001. In 2007, a fast track court in Ajmer convicted Farooq Chishti, but in 2013, Rajasthan High Court released him on time served. "The accused were in a position of influence, both socially and financially, and that made it even more difficult to persuade the girls to come forward and depose," says retired Rajasthan D.G.P. Omendra Bhardwaj, who was then posted as the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ajmer. The Supreme Court noted in this case, "Unfortunately many of the victims who appeared as witnesses turned hostile and one can appreciate the reason why they did not want to depose against the appellants as that would have exposed them as well, and would have adversely affected their future life." The case has been compared to the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal. Incident The blackmail operation was discovered to be a chain of serial offenders. A specific group of local influential men was targeting young girls. First, Farooq Chistee trapped one of the girls from Sophia Senior Secondary School in Ajmer and took obscene photos of her. Then the accused blackmailed the girl into introducing them to her classmates and friends. Eventually, other girls would be raped, sexually exploited, and have their pictures taken at a farmhouse. The cycle continued so forth. The gang continued to expand its operations and victimize an increasing number of girls. They photographed the girls in compromising positions, using the images to exploit the victims. Investigation The editor of Navjyoti, Deenbandhu Chaudhary, had admitted that the local law enforcement authorities were aware of the scandal almost since a year before the story broke, but they allowed the local politicians to stall the investigations. Chaudhary stated that they finally decided to go ahead