Police atrocity on transgender

Mangaluru: Members of the transgender community are in a state of shock after coming under repeated harassment by the police. The city which gave them the right to vote for the first time is also the same place where the police are meting atrocities on them.

Although the state and central governments keep implementing new measures to uplift the transgender community, there still exist incidents where the police forcefully strip transgender members in public and home guards demand sexual favours from them.

An incident where members of the transgender community were allegedly forced to strip in public by the police on the night of May 31^st has now come to light. A transgender member who is a beautician informed that the police allegedly forced her and two other members of her community to strip in public.

She explains that on the night of May 31^st, around 10 pm, she, along with her friends were spending time in a pub in the city when the police reached the spot, abused them with foul language and forced them to strip in public on the pretext of ascertaining their sexual identity.

She also alleged that on the next day, a home guard demanded sexual favours from her, and on refusal, beat her up. Initially the police attempted to cover up the matter, however, they were compelled to register a case after an NGO working for the privileges of the transgender community intervened.

Action has been taken against those found guilty and the police department will protect the interests of the third gender community, ascertained DCP Uma Prashant.