Hyderabad: South Zone police have arrested 19 locals including 5 journalists in connection with the mob attack on a transgender that resulted in his death. Hundreds of people had thrashed a 52-year-old transgender to death on Saturday near Azeem Hotel in Chandrayangutta after mistaking him for a child trafficker.
Based on WhatsApp rumours about burglars, kidnappers and transgenders, one of the locals had raised alarm saying the transgender and other two people had come to kidnap children. A cleric then intervened to rescue the victims and managed to convince the mob to not resort to violence during Ramadan. However, Chandraiah succumbed to injuries at Osmania General Hospital.
A case under section 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 302 (murder) and 307 (Attempt to murder) of IPC was registered and the police arrested 19 people after monitoring CCTV footage. The accused have been sent to judicial custody.