Police on Tuesday registered a case against suspects who had kidnapped and assaulted four people who are transgender women at gunpoint a few days ago.
The suspects had also recorded a video of the heinous crime and circulated it on social media.
Rawalpindi City Police Officer (RPO) Ahsan Younus took notice of the incident after the video went viral and directed to trace and arrest the suspects.
The victims, due to fear of consequences, were hesitant to approach the police however the Transgender Protection Centre of the police persuaded them to lodge a complaint against the suspects.
Transgender rights during times of Covid-19
Akbar Sana, a trans-woman, told the Waris Khan Police that around 25 people had kidnapped them from a party where they were performing. The suspects then allegedly stripped four victims naked, including Sana, Pervaiz-Nagina, Amir-Roomia and Pinky at gunpoint. They beat them and then sexually assaulted them.
Further, Arsalan Satti and four abettors allegedly gang-raped Sana and brutally beat her and uploaded videos of the incident on the internet.
Police officials said that the incident took place on July 24 but the victims were afraid to approach the police after being threatened by the suspects. However, some members of their community convinced them to speak up and approach the Tahffuz Centre – the helpdesk for people who are transgender.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 29th, 2020.
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