Court orders release of transgender persons arrested in DHA raid

A judicial magistrate on Tuesday ordered the release of 13 transgender persons who were arrested a day earlier by the police in a raid in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on charges of attacking a man, police officials and a police station.

The South district’s JM-XVI turned down the police’s request to send the transgender persons on physical remand and dismissing the case against them, ordered their release from custody. A large number of other transgender persons were also present in the court and lauded the decision.

According to the police, a crackdown against transgender persons begging on streets was launched on the night between Sunday and Monday in the Badar Commercial Area of DHA on the complaint of a person who claimed that he was attacked by the transgender persons.

“When we reached the scene, they [the transgender persons] attacked us as well,” claimed Darakhshan SHO Shahjahan Lashari. “Even after we took them to the police station, more of their companions arrived there to attack the police station and damage the infrastructure over the arrests.”

The SHO said the transgender persons surrounded the police station and held a protest against the arrest of their 10 companions, while they also broke the doors and windows during a clash with the police. More officials were called in to deal with the situation. Lashari said the police then arrested eight more transgender persons involved in the clash.