COIMBATORE: A 60-year-old transwoman, who was running a restaurant, was found murdered in her house on NSR Road at Saibaba Colony in the city on Wednesday.
The victim was identified as Sangeetha, president of the Coimbatore Transgenders Association. She had opened Covai Trans Kitchen at RS Puram a month ago. The eatery employed 12 transgender people.
According to police, her colleagues had visited her one-bedroom house after they failed to reach her over the phone from Monday. “They found the house locked. Houseowner Sathish Kumar noticed a foul smell emanating from the house and alerted the Saibaba police. A police team reached the place to find Sangeetha’s body in a plastic drum filled with salt,” a police officer said.
“The victim had suffered a deep injury on the throat. We believe the killing took place on Sunday night. The drum was filled with salt to prevent foul odour,” the officer added.
The body was sent to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem. Police have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of IPC.
Forensic experts lifted fingerprints from the house. Police are checking CCTV footage from the locality. Two special teams have been formed to crack the case.
Meanwhile, transwomen from across the city gathered in front of the house. Sangeetha’s friend Shilpa requested her family, who are staying at Sengalipalayam in the city, to pay last homage to her. “She did a lot of help to the transgender community even during the lockdown period. Her kitchen gave jobs to several unemployed people. Her death is a great loss to us all,” she said.
Trans rights activist Grace Banu took to her Facebook page to condemn the murder.
“Sangeetha was striving to earn respect in the society. It is heartbreaking to see that she was murdered brutally. The Coimbatore collector and police commissioner should intervene and ensure that the murderers are punished,” she said.