Maharashtra: Cop’s first sex change surgery successful
The sex change surgery of a 29 year old Maharashtra police constable has been sucesssful. The first of the two surgeries has been successful and the same was conducted at the St George's Hospital in Mumbai.
The constable Lalita Salve, who now prefers to be called Lalit, had met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in March and sought permission for a sex change. She had also sent an application to the state Director General of Police (DGP), requesting permission to undergo the surgery.
"I met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on March 21 in connection with my case. He assured me that the matter will be resolved on an urgent basis," Salve, who is posted at the Majalgaon Police Station in Beed, said.
Salve had earlier approached the state police department to allow her leave to undergo the sex-change surgery.
The department had then turned down her plea as the eligibility criteria for men and women constables are different, including height and weight.
In November last year, she had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the DGP to grant her leave to undergo the surgery. She had sought leave for a month to undergo the sex reassignment surgery, but the request was refused by Beed police authorities, following which she approached the High Court.
However, the high court had directed her to approach the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal since it was a service matter.
"I
sought
permission
for
the
sex-change
surgery,
leave
for
the
procedure
and
expressed
my
desire
to
be
in
the
service
as
a
male
police
constable
after
the
surgery,"
she
had
said.
She
had
also
consulted
doctors
at
the
state-run
J
J
hospital
in
Mumbai
for
the
sex
reassignment
surgery.
Salve, born in June 1988, noticed changes in her body about four years ago and underwent medical tests, which confirmed the presence of Y chromosome in her body, according to her petition filed in the high court.
While men have X and Y sex chromosomes, women have two X chromosomes. Doctors had said she had gender dysphoria and advised her to undergo a sex reassignment surgery.