TRANS WOMAN ASSAULTED BY POLICE ON ROAD IN SALEM: VIDEO INSIDE

In a shocking case, a 26-year-old sex worker, who was standing on Omalur Main Road in Salem on April 30 was allegedly beaten up by policemen. The trans woman has been identified as Sana who was no stranger to occasional harassment from the cops in that area.

According to The News Minute report, a video of the incident has gone viral that shows the sex worker lying in the middle of the street as inspector Shaktivel beats her with a lathi and when she tries to escape, she is dragged back by her leg. Two other policemen who were with him are also seen at the spot.

In the video that has been reportedly put up on TikTok, Sana details the assault she went through. "In the past, too, he has approached trans persons on the road, asked us for the 'rate' and has slapped us," alleges Sana. "They can come to question us but why assault me? He beat me black and blue, hitting me on my back, hand and legs. He even kicked my private parts. But the worst thing was, he tried to force me to get into an autorickshaw. If he wanted to arrest me, why not bring a police vehicle?" she asks. Sana says that she was arrested by the police in a theft case 20 days ago and is out on bail.   

Media reports further state that, after minutes of  brutality on the streets, Sana managed to escape the assault and get back home. Her friends then took her to the Salem government hospital for treatment. While she spent five days recovering in the hospital, Babumohan, an activist, saw the video of her assault and approached Sana. Babumohan says that they then approached the police to lodge a complaint. "After getting the details of the case, we went to the Police Commissioner but he questioned us as to why trans people were standing near the bus stop on the main road. Another police officer then took down our complaint and promised action," says Babumohan.

Speaking to TNM, Salem Commissioner K Shankar says an enquiry has been ordered against the inspector involved. "Our aim is not to harass the trans women. We have got reason to believe that they stop truck drivers and rob them. We have already warned them multiples times against standing near the bus stop," says the Commissioner.

"When our team went to remove them from the spot, one of them went and lay down on the road and refused to get up. They do this to embarass us. We are conducting an enquiry in the matter," Commissioner added.