Man pretendingto be transgender person found dead

Police officials looking into the mysterious killing of a father of four children who was found dead at a residential apartment in the Tariq Road neighbourhood in the wee hours of Sunday have revealed that the man was pretended to be a transgender person.

The 40-year-old man was found dead inside a flat located on the third floor of a building in the Tariq Road area within the limits of the Ferozabad police station.

Police found the body after the neighbours informed them that they had heard screaming from inside the apartment. The law enforcers reached the flat and found the door locked from the inside.

The officials broke down the door and entered the apartment to find a body on the floor. “There was blood everywhere in the room: on the walls, on the floor, on the bedcover,” the investigating officer, Inspector Salim Rind, told The News.

“The overall circumstances and the crime scene suggest that the man was killed by a hitherto unidentified man after a brief scuffle,” said the IO.

Police said that they have also recovered a knife and a chopper from the flat, adding that they were used in the murder. “It seems that the person who killed the man was also injured in the fight,” said Inspector Rind.

“The murderer then locked the door from the inside before escaping through a window,” he said, adding that the murderer used a bedcover to climb down instead of using the stairs.

Ferozabad SHO Sarwar Khan told The News that the police also found cut hairs from the room. “Maybe the fight began over the matter of cutting hairs, as chopping of the hairs is considered an act of shaming among the transgender community.”

The officer said that the body bore several marks of torture, particularly on the head, face and arms, which suggested that he had put up a hard fight before the intense bleeding from his head resulted in his death. Forensic experts have collected fingerprints from the crime scene.

Talking about the background of the victim, the IO of the case said that the man was not a transgender person but he pretended to be one, adding that the victim had rented an apartment around one and a half years ago to use for his personal and business activities, such as parties.

“His real name was Shabbir, but he went by Aini for business,” explained the officer. “He was a father of four, and his family was not aware of his activities.”

Inspector Rind said that his wife confirmed that he was not a transgender person, adding that she told the police that the two met the last time on Wednesday after a brief separation over a family dispute.

Hailing from Rahim Yar Khan, his family lives in Karachi’s Hussain Hazara Goth. His body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination, following which it was handed over to his family. They have taken the body to their hometown for his funeral and burial.

“A case has been registered against an unidentified person,” said the inspector. “Now we are waiting for the family to return from their hometown in three or four days to conduct further investigation.”

The officer said that the police are also looking into some suspicious phone numbers found in the victim’s mobile phone, adding that the murderer will be traced soon.