The police rebut the accusation of being ‘transphobic’ by marking out a section of the transgender people as robbers and extortionists.
M.P. Dinesh, Police Commissioner of Kochi city, where some police officers face serious allegations of transphobia, says there are criminals among transgenders, in the same way as there are criminals in any community. “It’s us [the police] who have secured them [transgender people] employment in the Kochi metro,” he says.
Refuting allegations of the police being unfair and hostile to the community, he says there were robbery and dacoity involving transgender people in Ernakulam and the police only acted on the basis of complaints. “Your freedom cannot be at the cost of someone else’s freedom.”
Mr. Dinesh says while the victims of extortion are ill-organised, the transgender community remains largely organised, drawing support from Maoists and Porattam-like groups. “They are the ones extending support to such campaigns against the police,” he said when asked about the transgender people holding a rights convention in Ernakulam on Sunday against the backdrop of alleged police atrocities.
