Transgender succumbs to burns in Hyderabad

According to the police, Vara Prasad alias Hamsa, 28, a resident of Avanthi Nagar in Erragadda, used to move around with one group of transgender persons in the Hitec City area and earned a livelihood by seeking alms

Hyderabad: A transgender person who was set ablaze, allegedly by a group of transgender persons as part of a gang rivalry on Sunday, succumbed to her burns while undergoing treatment at the Osmania General Hospital on Tuesday.

According to the police, Vara Prasad alias Hamsa (28), a resident of Avanthi Nagar in Erragadda, used to move around with one group of transgender persons in the Hitec City area and earned a livelihood by seeking alms.

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Recently, Hamsa started moving closely with another group from the city and this reportedly led to frequent fights between her and the old group members. They allegedly started harassing Hamsa since then and also trespassed into her house and created a ruckus. The police said, Hamsa informed her new group members about the harassment, with that group then confronting the rival group. The groups too began having frequent fights, police said.

On Sunday, the old group members, identified by the police as Lasya, Sameera, Moksha, Sudha, Rishi, Sai Pallavi and Jessy, called Hamsa on the pretext of discussing and sorting out the issues. Believing them, Hamsa went to the Railway Bridge near the Hitec City railway station. However, an argument broke out and Hamsa was allegedly attacked by over 20 persons. Though she tried to escape from there, they doused petrol on her body and set her ablaze.

Local residents rushed to her rescue and shifted her to the Osmania General Hospital where she died on Tuesday. The Madhapur police have booked a case and are investigating.

The incident has shocked the transgender community and also those advocating equal rights for them. Padma Shree awardee and activist Sunitha Krishnan tweeted about the incident, tagging Cyberabad Commissioner VC Sajjanar and hoping that “Hamsa would get justice as her life was equally precious”.

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