She was first rejected by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) because of her gender but she fought it out legally. K Prithika Yashini (25), a transgender, has now been officially appointed as a Sub-Inspector in the Tamil Nadu police force.

According to The Hindu, she was one of the 22 people who got their appointment orders on Monday from the Salem Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan.

Prithika had applied in 2015 to be an SI after the TNUSRB invited applications to fill 1,087 SI posts. But she was rejected because she did not fit into the male or female gender categories. She fought it out in the Madras High Court and was then allowed to write her test and take part in the physical tests as well.

She reportedly missed the 100 m dash by a second and was disqualified but she went to court again and the First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana passed orders in November 2015 that she was eligible.

The Hindu reports that she spoke to the media after she received the order on Monday and stated that her journey was difficult but she was happy. She said that she was also happy to be India's first transgender SI and she would fight against foeticide and prevent crime against women states the report. She has also said that she wants to be an IPS officer.