Santosh Gupta is a former Indian journalist who worked as a news reporter at the ‘Dainik Navajyoti,’ a local newspaper in Rajasthan. He is known for covering the news of the ‘Ajmer Rape Case – 1992.’ He provided extensive coverage of the case until the mid-2000s and also appeared multiple times as a witness for the prosecution.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
Wife & Children
There is not much information about his marital status and children.
Career
Santosh Gupta is a former news reporter who used to work for the Dainik Navajyoti newspaper. However, he later started working at a private hospital, where he had the responsibility to look after public relations.
The ‘1992 Ajmer Rape Case covering’
Santosh Gupta exposed one of the most scandalous crimes in India that took place in Ajmer, Rajasthan in 1992. The case was about more than 250 minor girls who were raped and blackmailed by a gang led by Farooq Chishti and Nafis Chishti, the former Indian youth politicians and Khadim of Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Reportedly, in the 1990s, Farooq and Nafis Chisti used to befool the school and college girls by gaining their trust. They first used to trap the minor girls and then invite them to their farmhouse, situated on Foy Sagar Road, where they were raped. They also used to take obscene pictures of the girls to keep their mouths shut and to blackmail them. The dreadful offence came to light after Santosh Gupta exposed the case in an article that was published on 21 April 1992 in the Dainik Navajyoti, a local newspaper in Rajasthan. However, the report didn’t gain much attention until 15 May 1992 when Santosh Gupta published the second report of the case, featuring blurred images of the unclothed survivors. This revelation caused an immediate uproar and ignited public anger. In response, Ajmer witnessed a complete shutdown on 18 May 1992 as a form of protest against the heinous crime.
A newspaper cutting of the Ajmer Rape Case 1992
Unveiling the Disturbing Evidence: The Obscene Pictures
The former reporter revealed in an interview how the obscene images of the victims reached the media which ultimately unveiled the true faces of the former Indian youth politicians and Khadim (caretaker) of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah named Nafis Chishti and Farooq Chishti, who were the main leaders of the gang. Gupta disclosed that at that time, a reel developer named Purshottam boasted about the sexual exploitation photos to his neighbour named Devendra Jain, who was searching for a pornographic magazine. Purshottam claimed about having even more explicit content, which he referred to as the “real stuff.” Devendra took the pictures from Purshottam, made several copies of them, and shared them with the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) group and the newspaper Dainik Navajyoti. The VHP workers, upon receiving the pictures, handed them over to the police, initiating an official investigation into the matter.
In Popular Media
In 2021, a web series titled ‘Ajmer 1992’ was announced based on the Ajmer Rape Case -1992. The web series was directed by Pushpendra Singh and featured Sahil Mishra, a film and theatre actor from Bhopal, in a key role. The web series was expected to be streaming in December 2021. In July 2023, a film titled ‘Ajmer 92,’ based on the same incident was released. The film was directed by Pushpendra Singh and starred Karan Verma, Sumit Singh, and Rajesh Sharma in the key roles.
Poster of the film ‘Ajmer 92’
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Gupta talked about how the political power and social influence of Nafis Chishti and Farooq Chishti helped them to commit the heinous crime. The former reporter recalled an incident and revealed the luxurious lifestyle led by the culprits at that time. He said,
All this clout helped them. I remember one incident where the two of them, on their jeep, went to Elite where some schoolgirls were sitting. One of them called the (restaurant) manager and asked him to distribute ice cream to everyone as it was the birthday of one of their friends. It may seem filmy, but during that time, it could leave anyone spellbound. Every crime reporter closely followed the gang because with great power comes great crime stories.”
- In an interview, Gupta talked about the social stigma that arose in the city after the incident. He revealed that after the Ajmer rape case came to light, people began assuming that the girls from the city were victims of the crime. He further revealed that during that time, many unknown individuals started visiting him to inquire about whether the girls they intended to marry were victims of the case or not. He said,
No one wanted to marry girls from Ajmer. I used to get so many unwanted visitors in the ’90s. People would tell me about upcoming weddings and then show me a picture of the bride. They would ask me to tell them whether or not she was ‘one of them.”
He added,
In the months after the story broke, if a girl died by suicide, she was assumed to have been a victim of the gang.”
- The former reporter believes that the victims are still facing difficulties because of the authorities’ approach in handling the case. Instead of focusing on bringing justice to the victims, the police were more worried about potential problems with public order due to the scandal.
- Santosh Gupta mentioned in an interview how the culprits of the case used their religious power to lead a privileged life and to seek the support of higher officials in various matters. While talking about it in the interview, he said,
They used this religious power to get political influence. SPs to SHOs would call them to negotiate over FIRs or issue appeals. No one could say no to them.”
