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transDate: 12/19 5:43 AM
Received: 12/19 10:11 AM
From: sangama@sangamaonline.org
To: Gwen Smith, gwen@gender.org
PLEASE SEE E-MAIL CAMPAIGN INFORMATION BELOW AND
SEND E-MAILS TO THE CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA
AND
TO THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. PLEASE
ALSO WIDELY DISTRIBUTE THIS MESSAGE.
JUSTICE FOR CHANDINI
Chandini alias Nazir, a 22 year old hijra
(transgender woman) died
in mysterious circumstances on the night of
December 1, 2002,
Sunday in Bangalore, India.
On December 4th all English and Kannada newspapers
sensationalised the death of Chandini. Her death
was reported as
a suicide. The reason given was that she set
herself afire because
her husband Gnanaprakash discovered her hijra
identity and
threatened to reveal it to his parents. They
reported that Chandini
deceived Gnanaprakash by hiding her hijra identity
at the time of
marriage. It is not at all surprising that the
police also accepted in
totality this version of what had happened as
supplied by her husband.
The following is a brief accounting of the true
events as ascertained by a
fact-finding team comprising of representatives
from the Peoples Union for
Civil Liberties (PUCL), Karnataka; Alternative Law
Forum (a group of
lawyers); Sangama (a sexuality minorities' rights
group); and Vividha (an
autonomous group of sexuality minorities).
Chandini hails from Arsikere, Hasan and has been
living in
Bangalore for the past 5-6 years. Gnanaprakash
initially met her in a
hamam (bath houses where hijras live). After a
six-month relationship and
after much persuasion Chandini agreed to marry
him. They married 16
months ago. There is photographic and videographic
evidence of the
marriage, and of it having been attended by many
friends of Chandini from
the hijra community. A week after the marriage,
Gnanaprakash accompanied
Chandini when she decided to go for Nirvan
(Castration) in a hospital in
Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh. After the operation
Chandini and her newly wed
husband lived at Chandini's Guru (Hijra mother in
the hijra community)
Prema's house, for about a month. Later they
rented a house in Amrutha
Halli, on the outskirts of Bangalore and lived
together as husband and
wife, for 5 months. He was often violent towards
her and began to harass,
beat her and took away all the money that she was
earning through
sex-work. After six months of living together
unable to bear his constant
demands for money and to escape his torture, she
left for Pune.
Chandini returned to Bangalore on November 7, 2002
and began
living with her Guru in Amrutha Halli.
Gnanaprakash learnt of her
return to Bangalore and came to her Guru's house.
In the absence
of her Guru he forced her to leave with him. She
had on her
person 60 grams of gold jewellery and Rs. 50,000
in cash when she
left. Gnanaprakash took her to a rented house in
Ramaswami
Palya (Banaswadi police Station Limit) in
Bangalore. He
deliberately isolated Chandini from her only
support, the hijra
community. She was found dead on the night of
December 1,
2002.
Local police in Banaswadi Police Station initially
refused to register the
complaint of Prema (Chandini's Guru). They in fact
said that they do not
recognise the hijra community or its
relationships. They said they would
act only if Chandini's biological parents issued a
complaint. They also
claimed that they only recovered Rs.5000 in cash
while investigating
Chandini's death.
There are several issues that suggest suspicion of
foul play in
Chandini's death. First, it is obvious from the
foregoing that the
statement of Chandini's husband of being tricked
into marriage by
her is a lie. There is evidence of his having
frequented hamams
from earlier days, and the photographic evidence
of the marriage
clearly shows that he new Chandini was a hijra at
the time of
marriage. Second, there are witnesses to the fact
that Chandini was
brutally treated by her husband, and ran away from
him to Pune.
Third, when Chandini left her Guru's house (under
pressure) she
had with her Rs.50000 and 60 grams of gold, while
the police
claimed to have recovered only Rs.5000.
We do not have much faith in the local police of
Banaswadi Police
Station undertaking an impartial investigation.
There bias against
the hijra community is obvious. There is also the
possibility of they
being offered cash inducement in order not to
undertake the investigation
seriously.
The fact finding committee has spoken to
Chandini's parents who
dispute local police claims of the Rs. 5,000,
found with Chandini,
having been returned to them. They also mentioned
that when
they first saw the dead body of Chandini, she had
gold ornaments
on her which were missing later.
We are starting an email campaign as one of the
many ways in
which to pressurize the police to investigate this
incident seriously, and
to ensure that people responsible for Chandini's
death do not go
unpunished. We request you therefore to send a
mail to the Chief Minister
of Karnataka at cm@kar.nic.in and to the
Chairperson, NHRC at
chairnhrc@nic.in, demanding an impartial enquiry
into Chandini's death. A
model copy of a letter to the Chief Minister is
given below. Please also
send a copy to sangama@sangamaonline.org
Please act immediately and widely distribute this
mail.
Visit our website www.sangamaonline.org for
information about
hijras and other sexuality minorities.
In Solidarity,
Famila, Revathi, Roshan, Lokesh, Sharada, Kumar,
Chandru,
Sumathi, Lakshmi, Ajith, Manohar, Nithin
For Sangama
________________________________________________
Copy of letter to Chief Minister of Karnataka /
The Chairperson
NHRC
Chief Minister's e-mail : cm@kar.nic.in or
smk@bangaloreit.com
NHRC Chairperson's e-mail : chairnhrc@nic.in
Sir,
We have come to know of the death in mysterious
circumstances
of Chandini alias Nazir, a 22 year old hijra
(transgender woman) on
the night of December 1, 2002, Sunday in
Bangalore. There is
reasonable suspicion to suggest foul play in her
death.
We have also come to know that the local police in
Banaswadi
Police Station initially refused to register the
complaint, and are not
very serious in their investigations into the
matter. They are also many
noticeable discrepancies with their accounts of
the incident.
We believe that people of all communities, and all
social
persuasions have an equal right under the law in
this society. We
also know that the reality is not so for most
people. In particular,
minority communities like hijras are subject to
severe persecution by the
society, and by the police who are expected to
ensure that no such
persecution takes place.
We therefore request your direct intervention to
ensure an impartial
enquiry into the whole affair, and punishment of
all those guilty.
Sincerely,
(your name)
Received: 12/19 10:11 AM
From: sangama@sangamaonline.org
To: Gwen Smith, gwen@gender.org
PLEASE SEE E-MAIL CAMPAIGN INFORMATION BELOW AND
SEND E-MAILS TO THE CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA
AND
TO THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. PLEASE
ALSO WIDELY DISTRIBUTE THIS MESSAGE.
JUSTICE FOR CHANDINI
Chandini alias Nazir, a 22 year old hijra
(transgender woman) died
in mysterious circumstances on the night of
December 1, 2002,
Sunday in Bangalore, India.
On December 4th all English and Kannada newspapers
sensationalised the death of Chandini. Her death
was reported as
a suicide. The reason given was that she set
herself afire because
her husband Gnanaprakash discovered her hijra
identity and
threatened to reveal it to his parents. They
reported that Chandini
deceived Gnanaprakash by hiding her hijra identity
at the time of
marriage. It is not at all surprising that the
police also accepted in
totality this version of what had happened as
supplied by her husband.
The following is a brief accounting of the true
events as ascertained by a
fact-finding team comprising of representatives
from the Peoples Union for
Civil Liberties (PUCL), Karnataka; Alternative Law
Forum (a group of
lawyers); Sangama (a sexuality minorities' rights
group); and Vividha (an
autonomous group of sexuality minorities).
Chandini hails from Arsikere, Hasan and has been
living in
Bangalore for the past 5-6 years. Gnanaprakash
initially met her in a
hamam (bath houses where hijras live). After a
six-month relationship and
after much persuasion Chandini agreed to marry
him. They married 16
months ago. There is photographic and videographic
evidence of the
marriage, and of it having been attended by many
friends of Chandini from
the hijra community. A week after the marriage,
Gnanaprakash accompanied
Chandini when she decided to go for Nirvan
(Castration) in a hospital in
Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh. After the operation
Chandini and her newly wed
husband lived at Chandini's Guru (Hijra mother in
the hijra community)
Prema's house, for about a month. Later they
rented a house in Amrutha
Halli, on the outskirts of Bangalore and lived
together as husband and
wife, for 5 months. He was often violent towards
her and began to harass,
beat her and took away all the money that she was
earning through
sex-work. After six months of living together
unable to bear his constant
demands for money and to escape his torture, she
left for Pune.
Chandini returned to Bangalore on November 7, 2002
and began
living with her Guru in Amrutha Halli.
Gnanaprakash learnt of her
return to Bangalore and came to her Guru's house.
In the absence
of her Guru he forced her to leave with him. She
had on her
person 60 grams of gold jewellery and Rs. 50,000
in cash when she
left. Gnanaprakash took her to a rented house in
Ramaswami
Palya (Banaswadi police Station Limit) in
Bangalore. He
deliberately isolated Chandini from her only
support, the hijra
community. She was found dead on the night of
December 1,
2002.
Local police in Banaswadi Police Station initially
refused to register the
complaint of Prema (Chandini's Guru). They in fact
said that they do not
recognise the hijra community or its
relationships. They said they would
act only if Chandini's biological parents issued a
complaint. They also
claimed that they only recovered Rs.5000 in cash
while investigating
Chandini's death.
There are several issues that suggest suspicion of
foul play in
Chandini's death. First, it is obvious from the
foregoing that the
statement of Chandini's husband of being tricked
into marriage by
her is a lie. There is evidence of his having
frequented hamams
from earlier days, and the photographic evidence
of the marriage
clearly shows that he new Chandini was a hijra at
the time of
marriage. Second, there are witnesses to the fact
that Chandini was
brutally treated by her husband, and ran away from
him to Pune.
Third, when Chandini left her Guru's house (under
pressure) she
had with her Rs.50000 and 60 grams of gold, while
the police
claimed to have recovered only Rs.5000.
We do not have much faith in the local police of
Banaswadi Police
Station undertaking an impartial investigation.
There bias against
the hijra community is obvious. There is also the
possibility of they
being offered cash inducement in order not to
undertake the investigation
seriously.
The fact finding committee has spoken to
Chandini's parents who
dispute local police claims of the Rs. 5,000,
found with Chandini,
having been returned to them. They also mentioned
that when
they first saw the dead body of Chandini, she had
gold ornaments
on her which were missing later.
We are starting an email campaign as one of the
many ways in
which to pressurize the police to investigate this
incident seriously, and
to ensure that people responsible for Chandini's
death do not go
unpunished. We request you therefore to send a
mail to the Chief Minister
of Karnataka at cm@kar.nic.in and to the
Chairperson, NHRC at
chairnhrc@nic.in, demanding an impartial enquiry
into Chandini's death. A
model copy of a letter to the Chief Minister is
given below. Please also
send a copy to sangama@sangamaonline.org
Please act immediately and widely distribute this
mail.
Visit our website www.sangamaonline.org for
information about
hijras and other sexuality minorities.
In Solidarity,
Famila, Revathi, Roshan, Lokesh, Sharada, Kumar,
Chandru,
Sumathi, Lakshmi, Ajith, Manohar, Nithin
For Sangama
________________________________________________
Copy of letter to Chief Minister of Karnataka /
The Chairperson
NHRC
Chief Minister's e-mail : cm@kar.nic.in or
smk@bangaloreit.com
NHRC Chairperson's e-mail : chairnhrc@nic.in
Sir,
We have come to know of the death in mysterious
circumstances
of Chandini alias Nazir, a 22 year old hijra
(transgender woman) on
the night of December 1, 2002, Sunday in
Bangalore. There is
reasonable suspicion to suggest foul play in her
death.
We have also come to know that the local police in
Banaswadi
Police Station initially refused to register the
complaint, and are not
very serious in their investigations into the
matter. They are also many
noticeable discrepancies with their accounts of
the incident.
We believe that people of all communities, and all
social
persuasions have an equal right under the law in
this society. We
also know that the reality is not so for most
people. In particular,
minority communities like hijras are subject to
severe persecution by the
society, and by the police who are expected to
ensure that no such
persecution takes place.
We therefore request your direct intervention to
ensure an impartial
enquiry into the whole affair, and punishment of
all those guilty.
Sincerely,
(your name)