LGBT members allege they were made to disrobe by Tripura police to prove their identity
Agartala, Jan 12: Four LGBT members were arrested by the police here and made to disrobe in a police station to prove their identity, according to an FIR filed by one of them.
They were also made to write an undertaking that they will never wear cross dress or cross makeup and if they are found in such an attire anywhere in the city in future they could be arrested, the FIR said.
The incident had allegedly taken place after the four emerged from a party in hotel in the city on Saturday night and the FIR was filed by one of the four on Monday after they were allowed to go.
The FIR, which was made available to mediapersons here on Tuesday, said that a photo journalist, who claimed to be reporter, was also with the police in the incident.
According to the FIR, the four persons were charged with extortion and taken to West Agartala women's police station where they were made to disrobe by both male and women police officers who were present there.
In the police station we were asked by the police to open our clothes and disclose our gender. The most embarrassing thing was that the police kept our wigs and inner garments in the police station , the FIR said and demanded justice.
The FIR said that they were charged with extortion without any proof ."It is a completely false charge , it said.
The four LGBT community members claimed that their Right to Privacy had been violated as well as those provided by Section 377 of National Legal Services Authority judgement of the Supreme Court.
The apex court had in its judgement declared transgender people as the 'third gender', affirmed that fundamental rights granted under the Constitution will be equally applicable to them and gave them the right to self-identification of their gender as male, female or the third gender.
The FIR said that the photo journalist had followed the four from the hotel and had even tried to touch them. He had wanted to dance with them in the hotel and taunted them. We did not entertain him but he followed us with the police officials and caught hold of us in Melarmath area , the FIR said.
Melarmath is about half km away from the hotel here.
No official of the West Agartala Police Station was available for comments on the incident.
A Tripura Police official said a report on the incident has been sought and the guilty will be punished.
Our junior officers said that they made preventive arrests under section 151 of IPC (assembly of five or more persons likely to cause disturbance of public peace). I'm not sure what grounds they (the LGBT members) were arrested, we are looking into the matter and have sought a report , he said.
Sneha Gupta Roy, a LGBT rights activist, told reporters on Tuesday that the video footage of the incident has gone viral on various media channels and has caused mental suffering to the families of the four persons.
She also alleged that the LGBT members were made to strip inside the police station in the presence of male and women police personnel.
She claimed that those from the community who eke out a living as make-up artists are now almost ostracized from the society after the incident and their livelihood is at stake.
Advocate Nilanjana Roy said the incident is not only violation of transgender rights but a gross denial of human rights.
"Cross dressing cannot be considered a crime and we will fight the case in court to get justice, she added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
