Shalu
Age 351 Apr 2019
Kozhikode, Kerala (India)
Murdered
TDoR list ref: tgeu/5-Apr-2019/Shalu
Shalu was found dead in suspicious circumstances near a bus stop at around 9am on Monday 1st April - the day after International Transgender Day of Visibility.
She had previously complained of being harassed and it is suspected that she was murdered.
A 35-year-old transgender woman was found dead on the roadside in Kozhikode in the early hours of Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Shalu, a resident of Kannur, who had reached Kozhikode on Friday. She was found on the Shankunni Nair Road, near the KSRTC bus stand in Kozhikode. At around 9 am on Monday morning, residents of the neighbourhood discovered her body and alerted the Nadakkavu police station.
Meanwhile, the transgender community in Kozhikode have expressed a strong suspicion of foul play in her death.
“I strongly suspect that she was murdered. She had earlier complained to me about some people harassing her. But we will only know once the post mortem report is done and the police investigation is completed,” Sisly Georg, a transgender activist and founder of Punarani Cultural Society, which works for trans rights, told TNM.
Sisly also added that CCTV footage of two men have been retrieved by the police following the incident.
“Shalu might have been engaging in sex work and that brought her to the area where she was found dead. The police have identified two men caught on the CCTV camera. They were walking near the area. Now the investigation will go in that direction,” Sisily added.
Shalu's birth family refused to bury her body.
More than 100 people paid homage to a murdered transgender woman in south India on Wednesday (3 April), after her family refused to accept her body and perform the last rites.
Police are chasing a homicide suspect after the body of 35-year-old Shalu was found dead at 9am on Monday morning.
But, Shalu’s family refused to take her body and perform final rites, according to The News Minute.
‘We tried to convince them’ transgender activist Sisily Georg told The News Minute. ‘But they were not willing to take her back to her house and give her a funeral she deserved. They wanted to finish it off quickly in Kozhikode itself’.
Sisily and other members of the transgender community organized the funeral at the public burial ground.
More than 100 people paid their respects.
http://www.asianetnews.com/kerala-news/trans-women-found-dead-in-road-side-at-kozhikkod-pp9ota
https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/transgender-woman-found-dead-in-india/
https://www.facebook.com/sheethalshyam.sheethalshyam/posts/728144187587392
https://www.facebook.com/AsianetNews/posts/3186514934707360
