A group of transgender persons at a 'Garima Greh' – a government-aided shelter home in Delhi – were assaulted by the Delhi Police late on 21 July, according to a video released by the founder of Mitra Trust, which runs the shelter.
In a live message online, Rudrani Chhetri, the founder of the trust, alleged that police personnel got the lock of Garima Greh opened at 12.40 pm and forcefully picked up a trans man named Aditya Baisoyatook from the shelter home.
When other residents and guards of the shelter home followed the police and reached the Dabri police station, they were also reportedly thrashed.
The Mitra Trust also accused the Delhi Police of lewd remarks and sexual assault in addition to physical violence.
The Delhi Police, on the other hand, claimed that it used only minimal force, and only because the group was obstructing their duty.
However, in an interesting turn of events, the Delhi Police personnel reached the shelter home the next day, Friday, 22 July, with fruits for the injured.
What Happened on the Night of 21 July
Located in Sitapuri, Delhi, the shelter home in question run by the Mitra Trust is one of the 12 Garima Grehs established by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to provide basic facilities like shelter, food, medical care, skill development, and entertainment to destitute and abandoned transgender persons.
Monu, a board member of Mitra Trust, says that 22-year-old trans man Aditya Baisoya had come to live there on 18 July.
Bela, a coordinator at Mitra Trust's Garima Greh, said that the police forcefully asked her to open the gate at 12.40 pm on 21 July.
Five police officials, including a woman constable, opened the gate of the Garima Greh without giving a reason. According to Bela, after going in, the police said that Aditya's family had lodged a missing person complaint at the Badalpur police station in Gautam Buddha Nagar and that they were only there to record Aditya's statement.
However, according to the residents, Aditya was then forcefully taken to the Dabri police station, which is just 10 minutes away from the shelter.
Bela adds that when some members of the Mitra Trust reached the police station looking for Aditya, the police misbehaved with them – inappropriately touched a trans woman, grabbed others by the neck and hair, and tried to push the group out of the police station.
Later, along with the guard at the Garima Greh, the trans persons who reached there were beaten up by the police.
Chhetri then released a video from the hospital where the group was taken afterward.
In the video, Chhetri, Bela, and other trust members are seen with their respective injuries.
"If transgender persons are not safe even in a government shelter, then where are they safe?" Chhetri asks in the video.
She also requests the Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to take cognisance of this matter.
Mitra Trust has lodged a written complaint in this matter against Dabri police station and Dwarka DCP office.
'Aditya Was Imprisoned in a Room for 2 Years'
There is also the question of whether Aditya was being forcibly kept in this Garima Greh, as his family alleges.
According to Aditya's case study – a record made when someone new comes to stay at the Garima Greh – accessed by The Quint, he is a 12th pass and has identified as a boy from the beginning. However, his family refused to acknowledge his gender identity and continued to treat him like a girl.
According to the case study, Aditya said that his family had imprisoned him in a room for two years and that he was tortured. He also said that his father beat him every day.
The case study also says that Aditya did not feel safe in his own home and that he spent two days at the Delhi railway station alone before he arrived at the Garima Greh with the help of some friends.
Aditya's case study found at Mitra Trust's Garima Greh.
(Photo: Ashutosh Kumar Singh)
According to Monu, a board member of Mitra Trust, Aditya was very happy at the shelter and got along well with others.
Monu says that Aditya had warned them that if his family members tracked him down, they would either kill him or themselves.
According to the residents of the shelter, Aditya's family may have got his location from a friend in whom he had confided, and that was how the UP Police landed there and took him away.
What Is the Delhi Police Saying?
Dwarka deputy commissioner (DCP) Harsh Vardhan said that the UP Police sought local assistance from the Dabri police station in the missing person case.
According to the DCP, the Delhi Police, along with the UP Police, went to Sitapuri's Garima Greh, from where they picked up Aditya and took him to the Dabri police station.
He further said, "After that, about 6-7 trans persons reached the Dabri police station demanding to meet Aditya. They were told that the case belongs to the UP Police, and that Dabri police station has only provided assistance."
"Hearing this, they became aggressive and started obstructing the work of the policemen on duty there. Some of them even took off their clothes and started verbally abusing us. Minimal force was used to disperse them."Harsh Vardhan, DCP, Dwarka
The Station House Officer (SHO) Satish Chandra and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anil Dureja of Dabri police station refused to comment on the matter.
Neither the SHO and ACP nor the DCP responded to why the Delhi Police sent the group fruits the next day if they weren't beaten up as they claim.
There are also some other pertinent questions in the case that are yet to be unanswered.
According to Aditya's Aadhaar card accessed by The Quint, he is 22 years old. So, even if his family lodged a missing person report, why did the UP Police go after midnight to pick him up? Why couldn't they have waited till the next morning?
Was Aditya forced to live in the government-supported Garima Greh? His case study and the statements of another partner refute this claim.
If someone is, in fact, being forcibly kept in the Mitra Trust Garima Greh, shouldn't the Delhi Police investigate it?
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