india

Updated: Nov 07, 2019 06:02 IST

A day after the killing of a trans community leader, Muskan Kinnar, hundreds of transpersons gathered Bihar’s Purnia on Wednesday to register their protest. Demanding an immediate arrest of the killers, the protesters gave the police 48 hours to do so. The local Congress unit has also extended its support to the agitation.

Transpersons, who were here from Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and various districts of Bihar, accused the police of failing to provide security to the community. They said there had been a scuffle among them a few days ago but that wasn’t a serious matter. “It was not so serious that it would lead to such a brutal killing. We want justice and will continue protesting till the culprits are nabbed,” said one of them.

Muskan Kinnar was shot dead in Gulabbagh on Tuesday while she on her way to perform “badhai” at the residence of a businessman. Two unidentified persons on a bike shot her from a close range soon after she alighted from an autorickshaw at Sonaili roundabout under Sadar police station. She was rushed to the district hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead. Sona Anarkali, who claimed to be the president of All India Kinnar Association and had come from Madhya Pradesh, said, “This is the first such incident in which a transgender was shot dead in broad daylight,” she said, demanding security to the community.Sub-divisional police officer Anand Kumar Pandey assured that the culprits would be nabbed. Police have seized Muskan’s mobile phone and diary and the CCTV footage is being scrutinized. Congress president (Purnia district) Indu Sinha, who joined the agitation at Purnia Collectorate, said, “The incident shows the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar.”

However, SDPO Pandey said, “It was a one-off incident and cannot be linked to the law and order situation. We are probing all angles, including the scuffle that took place among them.”