KOCHI: Ananya Kumari Alex, the first transgender radio jockey in Kerala, was found dead at an apartment near Edapally on Tuesday evening. Police said it is suspected to be a case of death by suicide. There were reports that she was suffering from severe physical discomfort for the last one year after undergoing sex reassignment surgery at a private hospital in the city.
Ananya, 28, was living in the apartment for the last few months. Police said the body was found hanging from the fan in the bedroom. A team from Kalamassery police station conducted the inquest and shifted the body to Kalamassery medical college for post-mortem.
Ananya, who underwent a sex reassignment surgery in June 2020, had recently come out against the hospital and the doctor complaining that she was under tremendous pain following the surgery and could not even do her routine job. She had blamed the doctor for the surgery failure. Ananya was the first transgender person to contest the Assembly elections when she became a candidate of Democratic Social Justice Party in Vengara in Malappuram district in 2021 polls. She was also a news presenter and a make-up artist.
Ananya, who hailed from Perumon in Kollam, rose to fame as a trans rights activist after facing bitter experiences from a young age. “Her death is really sad and shocking. She was in terrible pain for the last one year after undergoing sex reassignment surgery. She went for the surgery with much hope for living a life of her choice,” said Kerala State Transgender Justice Board member Anil A.
He said there was no rule to monitor sex reassignment surgeries in the state. “Many private hospitals claim to have expertise in conducting the surgery. But there are no rules to monitor it. The state needs to frame a protocol for conducting such surgeries and also put in place an ethics committee to monitor and evaluate sex reassignment surgery,” he added.