COIMBATORE: A 60-year-old transwoman, who runs a restaurant, was found dead at her home in Coimbatore on Wednesday with a deep cut on her throat.
The victim has been identified as Sangeetha, president of the Coimbatore Transgenders Association. It is only a little over a month ago that Sangeetha opened Covai Trans Kitchen in RS Puram and employed around 12 transgender people.
According to a police official, people who have been working with Sangeetha, have been trying to reach her on her mobile phone since Monday but of no avail. Growing suspicious, a couple of them visited her house in Saibaba Colony and found it locked.
Meanwhile, the owner of her one-bedroom house and neighbours had alerted the Saibaba police about a putrid smell emanating from there.
“Police reached the spot and found the body of Sangeetha in a plastic drum that was used for storing water. The drum was filled with crystal salt to delay the decomposition process,” said the official.
The official said the murder was suspected to have taken place on Sunday night. The reason for the murder was not known.
The police recovered the body and sent it to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem. They have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of IPC and are further investigating the case.
The police formed two special teams to speed up investigations.