The Coimbatore City Police on Friday arrested a man on charges of murdering M. Sangeetha (59), a transgender entrepreneur and head of one of the transgenders’ associations in Coimbatore district.
The police said R. Rajesh (23) from Nagapattinam district was working under Sangeetha at ‘Covai Trans Kitchen’, a biriyani joint inaugurated under her leadership on East Venkataswamy Road at R.S. Puram in September. He joined early in October and was staying with Sangeetha. As the accused allegedly began torturing her sexually, she threatened to file a complaint with the police against him. This led to her murder on Sunday night at her residence on N.S.R. Road in Saibaba Colony, following which he stuffed the body in a plastic barrel and sprinkled crystal salt on it and absconded, the police said.
The police registered a case and City Commissioner of Police Sumit Sharan had ordered the formation of two special teams to nab the accused.
On Thursday, Rajesh surrendered at the Sanganoor Village Administrative Office and was later handed over to the police. He confessed to have stolen ₹20,000 from Sangeetha’s residence and ran away to his hometown, the police said.
A senior police officer said there were no previous murder cases against Rajesh. He confessed to have stuffed the body in the barrel and sprinkled salt to delay the detection of murder, the officer said. The accused was remanded in judicial custody on Friday.
‘Disheartening’
Transgender artist and writer Kalki Subramaniam termed the murder as “disheartening and condemnable.” “Such crimes against transgenders must be taken seriously by the police and the legal system,” she told The Hindu , adding that Sangeetha was a “very respected person in the [transgender] community.”
