KOCHI: A transwoman’s palm was burnt with an ignited camphor, allegedly by another transwoman who performed exorcism. Ahalya Krishna, a graduate student at Maharaja’s College, has filed a complaint at the Thrikkakara police station against her roommate Arpitha.
As per the complaint, the exorcism was performed in the middle of December last year. “The complainant alleged that Arpitha forcibly placed the ignited camphor on her palm, claiming that it was necessary to exorcise an evil spirit that had entered her body. Though other roommates tried to douse the fire, Arpitha didn’t allow them. Some of them were not even allowed to visit the hospital,” said a police officer.
The complainant said her condition worsened two days after the incident. “Following this, I decided to approach a hospital in Kalamassery. To avoid a police inquiry, I declared that I had placed the ignited camphor on my palm on my own,” Ahalya said in her complaint.
She also said it was due to fear that she didn’t register a complaint against Arpitha earlier. “Had I registered the complaint, I feared the other transgender people in our group would isolate me. When I informed another group of transgender people about the incident, they supported me. This gave me courage to register the complaint,” she said.