Andhra books first case under Transgender Protection Act against four men
This is first case in Andhra Pradesh, where a 26-year-old transgender woman was molested by four men in Visakhapatnam
By Newsmeter Network Published on 19 Jun 2023 4:52 PM GMT
Representational Image.
Visakhapatnam: In a first, Andhra Pradesh police has booked a case under the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 and arrested four men for molesting a transgender woman in Visakhapatnam.
The arrested are asupalli Srinivasu (33), Hanish Kumar (26), Satish Kumar (30) and Manoj Kumar (23).
On June 8, a 26-year-old transgender woman, after watching a movie at a local theatre, boarded an autorickshaw from Jagadamba junction to Hanumanthavaka in which three men were already on board, police said.
After a while, the three men started touching her private parts, forcing her to raise a hue and cry, and ultimately disembark from the autorickshaw at Pedagadili Junction, the police said.
Once she alighted, all four men, including the auto driver, started beating her up, especially on her head, her complaint states.
"Soon after she got down from the vehicle, she complained and immediately we registered a case under the Transgender Act," Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Trivikram Varma told on Monday.
Police booked a case under IPC Sections 354 (assaulting a woman) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) read with 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and Section 18 (d) (endangering life and safety) from the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2019.
"This is the first case in Andhra Pradesh (under the transgender protection act)," ACP Vivekananda, who is also the nodal officer for the transgender protection cell of the coastal district said, but added a caveat against the misuse of the law: "Kindly, my request is that transgenders should not take this as an advantage."
The case was booked at a Disha police station, which are model stations whose objective is to render speedy justice for women who are victims of sexual assault (rape) and harassment and children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Inputs from PTI
