Maharashtra constable Lalit Salve rejoins duty after sex reassignment surgery

Attired in smart-fit khakhi uniform and blue beret, constable Lalit Kumar Salve saluted his superiors here on Tuesday and rejoined duty a month after undergoing sex reassignment surgery. Policeman Salve, earlier Lalita Kumari Salve, walked into the Majalgaon Police Station and reported to Senior Police Inspector Raju Talekar.

This was the first case of a sex reassignment surgery for a police officer who continues to remain in the force after battling tremendous hurdles, court, political and administrative battles and emerging successful.

"My life has changed after the operation. It's like a re-birth for me... It is a very happy day for my family, me... The feelings I experience are beyond description, but we are overwhelmed," Salve told mediapersons.

He said he felt more confident now as a man and would sport the dark blue beret meant for male constables.

"In absence of due medical care from state or police department [they] continued to live under serious mental trauma and social stigma," they had said in their petition before the Bombay High Court seeking permission to undergo a sex reassignment surgery and continue in the police force as a policeman.

The BA Literature graduate's issue caught the media attention and later Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the Director-General of Police Satish Mathur to favourably look into their case.

Salve was admitted to St George Hospital in Mumbai on May 22 and discharged a week ago. After the first phase of the surgery, he will undergo the second stage of procedures after six months, according to Rajat Kapoor, Head of Plastic Surgery at St George Hospital.