Date:22/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/22/stories/2006112216960400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Probe ordered into abuse of transgender teen

Special Correspondent

Police to submit report in two months

CHENNAI : The Madras High Court has ordered a District Judge-level probe into the alleged sexual atrocities committed on a teenaged aravani (transgendered person) by Vyasarpadi policemen and his subsequent suicide in front of the station.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice K. Chandru, passed the order on a petition filed by R. Jayalakshmi, sister of the victim, Pandian. She alleged that because of the continuous sexual harassment suffered at the hands of police personnel in Vyasarpadi station, her brother, committed self-immolation in front of the police station on June 12. He succumbed to burn injuries on June 29. The police, however, have denied the allegations. The bench appointed the Member-Secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA) to conduct the probe and submit his report in two months.