Pimpri Chinchwad: Police book four persons under Transgender Act for attacking transgender student, hurling abuses

“The complainant and the accused — one of whom is the victim’s landlady — have an ongoing dispute over an issue regarding the accommodation. At the time of the incident, when the complainant called the landlady on the phone, the latter allegedly threatened and hurled abuses over the phone. The four accused then came to the complainant’s accommodation. The landlady allegedly hurled derogatory remarks at the complainant’s trangender identity and started thrashing the complainant. Another accused then dragged the complainant out of the house by feet and then beat the complainant with steel rods,” said an officer from the Bavdhan police station.

“We have invoked the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act along with the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for assault and criminal intimidation. A probe has been launched. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act has been invoked by us for the first time,” the officer said.

Police have invoked Section 18D of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act which pertains to “harms or injures that endangers the life, safety, health or well-being, whether mental or physical, of a transgender person or tends to do acts including causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years and with fine.”

The BNS sections invoked in the case include 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 351 (criminal intimidation), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 351 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).