DHARMAPURI: K Prithika Yashini , who became the first transgender to become sub-inspector of police, joined the police service on Sunday in Dharmapuri Yashini, who had fought a long legal battle to join the police, visited the officer of the superintendent of police in Dharmapuri and submitted her joining documents on Sunday. Prior to joining she had had undertaken six months of practical training."I was not at all tense since al the senior officers and my colleagues were very cordial. In fact, I was very excited on my first day in duty,'' said Prithika. The one-year-long police training also helped her overcome the apprehensions of stepping into an unknown terrain. It was on Friday that she passed out of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy at Vandalur near Chennai along with 1,028 other trainees, to become the country's first transgender sub-inspector Prithika was born and raised as Pradeep Kumar in Chennai. After completing undergraduation in computer applications , she underwent a sex change surgery and became Prithika. If finding her gender identity was an arduous journey, getting into the police service posed even more challenges.Prithika's application to the post of sub-inspector was rejected on the grounds that the application had only two columns - either male or female - to fill in the gender. When she found that the application was not accepted since she had filled in as transgender, she approached the high court and fought against the state uniform services recrtuiment board citing a Supreme Court directive.Subsequently, she won the case in her favour. She was recruited as sub - inspector and the appointment order was given to her in February last year.