Indore: Hindu transgenders accuse Muslim peers of forced conversion, infecting them with HIV syringes upon refusal; SIT to probe
Members of Hindu transgender community have charged some Muslim transgenders with forcing them to embrace Islam in the Nandlalpura neighbourhood of Indore. They further accused the latter of purposefully infecting them via HIV contaminated syringes.
Sakina Guru, a transgender Hindu leader stated that Seema Haji, also known as Farzana and Payal alias Naeem Ansari, from Malegaon spearheaded the aggressive conversion campaign against them.
Indore Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in response to the allegations. According to Sakina, those who refused received injections from syringes infested with HIV which caused around 60 people to become sick. Twelve of them have been admitted to the ART Centre at MY Hospital. She added that several members of the community have either absconded or joined the perpetrators out of fear.
She mentioned that Payal left his wife and kids behind when he departed Malegaon to Indore in 2000 and started pressuring transsexual people to become Muslims after arrival. Sakina disclosed that she was also coerced into performing the Hajj by Seema who then attempted to convert her. Afterward, she created her own organisation after realising their intentions. However, Seema began to pressure the Hindu members and summoned more Muslim transgenders from Maharashtra.
Sakina’s attorney informed that legal complaints had been submitted to the Police Commissioner, the PMO, the CMO, the CJI and other high-ranking officials. Additionally, he shared videos to support his claims, asserting that approximately 100 sick people, victims of a “Kinnar Jihad,” live in Indore without access to medical supervision.
The conflict has resulted in recurrent altercations between the two parties and police stations in Chandan Nagar and Vijay Nagar have received formal complaints. Last month, a similar unrest at the Pandrinath police station even resulted in the station-in-charge being transferred.
Sakina complained to Collector Ashish Singh following a demonstration at the Pandrinath station. The case was turned over to SDM Nidhi Verma. Police Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh formed a Special Investigation Team headed by DCP Rishikesh Meena and other top officials in response to protests and a suicide threat from Sakina’s group against police inaction. Officials have classified the inquiry as extremely sensitive because of the ramifications for public health and society.
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