A day after the city police busted a racket allegedly conducting online sex trade from a lodge near Pulleppady, one of the accused in the case attempted suicide at the Ernakulam Central Police station.
According to the police, Saya alias Ratheesh, a transgender, tried to cut her veins inside the wash room late on Friday. The police, however, rushed her to a nearby hospital. She is now out of danger.
A case has been registered against her under the relevant provisions of the IPC.
Meanwhile, protest is brewing among the transgender community in Kochi over the alleged framing of their fellow members in the case. According to them, the move is part of a larger conspiracy by the police to force transgenders out of Kochi.
“The police do not want any transgender in the city and hence, have been targeting us for a very long period now. In this particular case, they had been visiting the lodge where several of our fellow members are staying at a daily rent of ₹400 for the last couple of days. The police even threatened the employees of the lodge for accommodating transgenders,” said Plinku Sangeeth, a transgender rights activist in the city.
Plinku also accused the police of threatening another transgender, who had just returned to the lodge from her workplace, with arrest. “They told Theertha, a Kochi metro employee, that she was being spared for the time being,” she said.
The police, during a raid on Friday, had arrested the kingpin of the racket, besides five women, four transgenders, three customers, and the lodge manager. According to the police, the sex racket was allegedly being run with the support of the manager.
Based on the statements of the accused, the police have expanded the scope of the investigation to more areas. They also hinted at more arrests in the coming days.
The accused were produced before a magistrate on Saturday evening.
