Main culprits in murder case of transgender still at large

PESHAWAR: Main culprits in the murder of 19-year-old transgender in the name of honour are still at large.

Though the police have recently arrested Aurangzeb, father of the transgender Maya, Zubair and Saddam, but the main culprits Jamshed and Adnan are still at large.As per the Nowshera Cantt police report in the murder case of Maya, Aurangzeb, accused father of the transgender, has confessed to the crime in his statement to the police.

The father disclosed the names of other accused, including Jamshed, Safdar, Adnan, Zubair, Saddam, Arif, Ashfaq and Sheraz.He said that they had first prepared a plot for Maya’s killing, whose real name was Aftab, as he said: “Maya became a shame and dishonour for the whole family.”

“We first got the custody of my son Aftab from the police and took him as guarantors from the Hashtnagri Police Station,” the father said, adding that they first wanted to kill the person in Amangarh area, but failed.

He said then they handed over his son to Jamshed, Adnan and Zubair for killing at some safe place. The man said the main culprits again failed to kill the person at Pir Sabaq bridge and then succeeded in killing him at Babu Khwar area, from where the body was recovered. He alleged that Jamshed, his nephew, had shot dead Maya.

The police claimed that efforts were underway for nabbing Jamshed and Adnan. Maya had taken refuge at the Hashtnagri Police Station after she came to know that her family members were going to kill her.

During the investigation, the police also made a clue from Maya’s friend Naina, with whom she was residing at the Khushal Market that Maya had a life threat from her family members and that was why she felt that she would be safe at the police station.

Maya was killed a few hours after leaving the police station. Peshawar’s transgender community had also staged protests in the city in the wake of the incident and demanded arrest of the main culprits.

Taimur Kamal, a transgender rights activist, told The News that the police had failed to arrest the main culprits. He said the real culprits should be brought to justice.A similar incident had taken place on June 18 as two transgender persons were injured when unidentified assailants opened fire on them near Takhtbhai in Mardan district.

One of the victims, identified as Kalajayi, received four bullets - two in legs and as many in the stomach. Spoagmay, the other victim, was hit by one bullet.A recent report on violence against the community revealed that from 2015 to date, at least 63 transgender persons have been killed in the province. On July 22, a local court handed down the death sentence and Rs1 million fine to a man for killing a transgender Alishah, whose death had triggered public outcry and protests in 2016.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Sadia Andaleeb ruled that the prosecution had fully established its case, while the charges against the accused, Fazal Dayan alias Fazal Gujjar, had been proved beyond any shadow of a doubt. The court ordered the payment of Rs1 million as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased.