Disclaimer: ED cannot verify the claims made below and has sourced all of the material from third parties
Yesterday, I came across an Instagram story alleging that hijras who begged in CP to scrape by a living were repeatedly harassed by the local policemen and were even taken to the police station and raped by said policemen.
This behavior has been prominent especially after the abolishment of Section 377, they said.
Kabir and Shivanya, who were walking back to the metro station after attending a pride parade that had taken place in Hudson Lane, Hauz Khas, and Connaught Place, spotted two young transwomen begging on the streets of CP.
After striking up a conversation with them and assuring them that they were safe to talk to, Kabir learned that these transwomen were regularly harassed by the local policemen on random pretexts.
Policemen allegedly beat them up, snatched their food, took a part of their daily income, beat them with lathis and did not even let them set up stalls like other vendors.
What was even worse is that the policemen allegedly took them away at night and raped them, at the police station.
Kabir and Shivanya then urged them to get the message across to the people, to make their story heard and not get lost in the cacophony that is today’s media. And so they did, braving all odds and not cowering at the possibility of future persecution.
It cannot get worse than this, they said.
Watch the video below:
They say that they want justice. They want to live equally, and not face this kind of persecution. They are not allowed to even beg, and jobs are out of the question.
These claims, if true, are shocking and horrifying and expose the disgusting and filthy habits of these policemen that, if not being condoned, are still going on without any scrutiny.
Further, these acts are alleged to have taken place inside a police station. The only place where one might think to go to seek justice. Irony abounds.
I hope that if these allegations turn out to be true, then the Delhi Police take strict action and provide relief to the victims.
I believe it is also a time of reckoning where we rethink our attitudes towards transwomen and men who have been historically stigmatised, and start the process of bringing them into the mainstream.
Stay tuned to this space for updates on the same.
Image Source: Instagram
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