PANAJI
The State government has constituted a State-level Transgender Protection Cell to monitor offences against transgender persons and ensure that complaints are promptly registered, investigated and prosecuted.
The Cell, constituted under Rule 11(5) of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020, has been tasked with overseeing police action in crimes against transgender persons, ensuring grievances are redressed within 15 days, and enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
The Director General of Police will head the Cell as its Chairperson, with the panel also comprising the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Range), Director of Social Welfare, Joint Director of Accounts in the DGP's Office, and Police Inspector (Crime Reader). The Superintendent of Police (Law and Vigilance) will serve as the Member Secretary.
In the notification by the Home Department, the Protection Cell is entrusted with monitoring the functioning of District-level Transgender Protection Cells and preparing consolidated quarterly reports for submission to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment through the National Portal for Transgender Persons. It will also place quarterly reports before the State Transgender Welfare Board and submit an annual report to the Union government.
The notification makes it mandatory for the Cell to ensure that grievances raised by transgender persons are addressed within 15 days of the complaint, besides coordinating with the State Legal Services Authority to facilitate free legal aid wherever required.
Apart from overseeing investigations into offences, the Cell has also been directed to organise awareness and sensitisation programs for police personnel and private establishments as per the Act and the Rules.
The government has further mandated the Cell to ensure strict implementation of the law's non-discrimination, rescue and penal provisions, to strengthen protection mechanisms and improve institutional response to crimes and discrimination faced by transgender persons in the State.
