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"For many years, I was known by various slurs. Today, I am a cop,'' said 24-year-old Divya Nishad, a transgender woman, who is all set to join Chhattisgarh police force soon.
Divya is among the nine people from the community to be inducted into the Bastar Fighters – a special unit of Chhattisgarh Police formed to operate in Maoist-prone Bastar division.
Including the recent nine inductees, Chhattisgarh now has 22 trans persons in its police forces.
After the announcement of setting up of the special unit of Chhattisgarh Police in 2020, the district-wise recruitment process began in October-November 2021.
As per the police department, a total of 53,336 applications were received from the seven districts of the Bastar division. A total of 608 aspirants were selected into the force whose results were announced on 15 August.
Recounting her journey, Divya said that their life has always been a topic of laughter for the people and was a ridicule till now.
"I was always ridiculed, even abused throughout my educational period. Once my father called me a slur and I left the house and didn't return for a year," Divya told The Quint.
Divya thanked her mother who supported her in becoming the first person in their entire family to get a government job.
"I am the first one to get a government job, in the police department. I was laughed at and ridiculed and now they will salute me," Divya added with a satisfied tone.
Barkha's father Ayatu Ram Baghel, who is also a notable figure in the village, used to fear that Barkha's identity will dent his stature and people would make fun of him.
Prior to joining the force, Barkha had been working as a physiotherapy assistant since 2018.
Vidhya Rajpoot, a Raipur-based transgender rights activist, said that the induction of transgender people in police force is an example for the country.
“We thank the Chhattisgarh government for helping the transgender people to get selected in the police force. Chhattisgarh's steps have become an example for the rest of the country," Rajpoot said.
Congratulating the selected candidates, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday, 16 August, said:
P Sundarraj, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range said that the department would ensure that conductive work atmosphere bereft of any discrimination is provided to the newly recruited personnel.
Earlier in March 2021, 13 persons from the transgender community were inducted into the Chhattisgarh police force.
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