Agartala, June 22, 2024: A recent spate of thefts has left the transgender community in Tripura’s Dharmanagar under North district in distress, as thieves ransacked the home of a prominent third-gender individual Madhuri Das. On Saturday, Madhavi Das, a transgender person, broke down in tears after finding that a group of thieves had stolen all her belongings including her mobile phone.

Madhuri Das, who resides in a house she built in the signal slum adjacent to the Dharmanagar railway gate was in Agartala when the incident took place. She rushed back to Dharmanagar upon hearing the news of the burglary. “When I entered my room, I couldn’t hold back my tears,” Madhuri said. “Our lives are dependent on the mercy of people, and now everything I had is gone.”

The thieves had taken everything from her house including valuable ornaments and her mobile phone. Overwhelmed with emotion, Madhuri filed a report at the Dharmanagar police station. “If someone steals everything we have, we are left with nothing for the rest of our lives,” she lamented.

On the same night, another theft took place at the shop of Shubadeep Nath on College Road. The thieves broke into his shop by cutting through the tin roof and made off with cash amounting to between 60,000 and 70,000 rupees. Shubadeep also reported the incident to the Dharmanagar police, who promptly investigated the scene.

The community is increasingly concerned about the rising incidents of theft. “Dharmanagar is being targeted one theft after another,” a local resident noted. “While the police are monitoring the situation, the frequency of these crimes is alarming.”

Police officials assure the public that they are working diligently to catch the perpetrators and have increased patrols in vulnerable areas. The transgender community, meanwhile, hopes for swift action and greater protection in the future.