Ajmer: The Rajasthan High Court on Friday suspended the sentences of four convicts — Zameer Hussain, Iqbal Bhati, Salim Chisti and Nafees Chisti — in the notorious 1992 Ajmer rape and blackmail case and granted them bail. The decision comes after a special Pocso court in Ajmer sentenced six individuals to life imprisonment on Aug 20, 2024, for their involvement in the case that had rocked the nation.The case involved allegations that a gang was raping and blackmailing school and college girls in Ajmer. Following a lengthy legal process, 12 individuals were sentenced to life terms in 1998 while six were convicted last year.The four allowed bail by a HC division bench in Jaipur were granted relief on various grounds: Two were not named in the FIRs and the other two had already served nearly nine years in prison. The prosecution opposed the suspension of sentences, citing the severity of the crimes and the impact on survivors. Vinay Pal Yadav and Ashish Rajoria, representing the convicts, said the HC found no evidence linking Zameer Hussain and Iqbal Bhati to the crimes as neither had been identified by the survivors.Sunil Tyagi and Kapil Gupta, representing Salim Chisti and Nafees Chisti, said they had completed nearly nine years of their sentences. The counsels said another person had previously received relief from the Supreme Court, which had deemed 10 years to be sufficient punishment. The bail application by Naseem alias Tarzan and Sohil Gani Chisti, who had not yet served five years of their sentences, was withdrawn by their advocates.
