Bangalore: Sex change racket - Financer arrested

Bangalore City police have today arrested a financier for his alleged involvement in a major sex change racket in the city.
The police, who had busted the racket yesterday with the arrest of two eunuchs for kidnapping a boy and coercing him into prostitution after his sex was changed, had succeeded in arresting kingpin Rajanna from the city and they were on the look out for a doctor, who operated the boy in Andhra Pradesh, the sources said.
They said the ninth standard student had been identified as Chandrashekhar of T Dasarhalli in the city. He was taken to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh for the sex change in March, when his parents had filed a missing complaint with the police.The racket involves in kidnapping, castrating and eventually forcing them into begging and prostitution.
The boy revealed that he had gone to Kadapa and underwent a couple of surgeries and got his sex changed before being named as Shilpa. The only son of labour Venkatappa was then forced into the business of prostitution and begging. The money he collected from the day was given to Rajanna, who had financed his surgery in Kadapa. Rajanna had also made the arrangement of Rs 50,000 for the breast transplant in a city hospital.
The boy has been admitted to Victoira hospital for rejuvenating his genitals. The Chief Minister's office has come forward to bear the medical expenses for the operation, they added. According to a report, there were about 25,000 transgenders in the city.

Source: http://mangalorean.com/
Bangalore November 10, 2008

Photo: Anita Khemka