The recent murder of a transgender woman on a footpath in the heart of the city has shocked many. Members of the community are worried about their safety and have urged the police to arrest the accused.
The crime was committed on the night of August 24 in front of a private bank on B.M. Road, a few meters away from the police station. The accused had allegedly thrown a brick of cement on the woman’s head and killed her and then raped the body. The incident had received wide attention after CCTV camera footage of the incident went viral.
For a couple of days, the police had difficulty ascertaining the identity of the victim. As they got to know that the victim was a transgender, the Hassan police contacted Prakruthi Samudaya Seva Samsthe that works for the community. Varsha Hassan, head of the organisation, told The Hindu, “The police contacted us and we identified the victime as one of our members. She had registered with us and the organisation had provided her benefits including the food kits during the lockdown.” Later the body was handed over to her family in Belur.
The victim, around 50, often travelled to Mumbai and Hyderabad. “Her family told us that she left saying she would be going to Mumbai. It seems that on the day she somehow got stuck in Hassan with no bus to reach her destination and decided to sleep on the pavement, where she was later found dead. This incident has only highlighted the difficulties we face. If she had a place to stay, she would have been alive,” Ms. Varsha said.
LGBT people face difficulty in renting homes. A few members of the community are staying in a rented house at Mavinahalli, on the city outskirts. The house owner often faces harsh comments from neighbours and the police for renting his house to them. “Our families have sent us out. We struggle hard to lead a life as we don’t get jobs easily. Many of the community people either go begging or do sex work. And, the whole community is blamed for the mistakes committed by a few,” Ms. Varsha said.
No arrest
The police, following the incident, conducted a drive in Hassan to rehabilitate beggars with no shelter. They were all shifted to temporary shelters. However, there has been no progress with the investigation into the case. The officer said the investigation was going on.
