Prithika Yashini at the Choolaimedu Police Station in Chennai.

CHENNAI

11 October 2017 01:21 IST

‘Will discharge duties without partiality’

K. Prithika Yashini, the first transgender who was appointed Sub-Inspector of Police in Tamil Nadu, took charge at the Choolaimedu Police Station on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons on her immediate priorities, she said she will discharge her duties without any partiality or prejudice. However, she refused to elaborate saying she cannot speak to the media without obtaining permission of senior officers.

Born in Kandhampatty village, Salem, to P. Kalaiarasan, a driver, and K. Sumathi, a tailor, Yashini dreamt of becoming a police officer as a child. She realised changes in her body when she was a Plus-Two student. However, after her family abandoned her, she ran away to Chennai in 2011. With the help of a few friends, she got a job as a warden in a ladies hostel. She spent the next few years changing jobs.

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Yashini faced stumbling blocks in realising her dream of becoming a police officer as her application was initially rejected because of her gender. She then approached the Madras High Court, which ordered the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board to accept her application.

Yashini was selected for the post of Sub-Inspector, thanks to a ruling of the Madras High Court in her favour in 2015. She was posted as trainee SI in Dharmapuri district last April after the completion of one-year intensive training at Chennai.

Inspector J. Shivakumar, Choolaimedu station, told The Hindu, “She has been assigned regular duties like any other Sub-Inspector. We will ensure that there will be no discrimination and will assign regular works such as patrol duty, investigation and others.”

A senior police officer said, “She is good choice for the station. Already we are facing too many difficulties in handling transgenders who are in large numbers in the area. We believe that she will handle them in a proper manner.”