A transgender person has been convicted for sexually abusing a boy in Kerala by the Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court on Monday, February 6. Shefina (34), a trans woman who hails from Anathalavattom near Chirayinkeezhu, was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 25,000, according to a report in The Hindu. Special Judge Aaj Sudarshan who heard the case also ruled that Shefina could be imprisoned for an additional year if she defaults on the fine payment.    

She was found guilty under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(d) (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The incident related to the case took place seven years ago on February 23, 2016, at 2.30 pm. Shefina met the victim who was coming to Thiruvananthapuram by train from Chirayinkeezhu. She traveled with him to Thampanoor and subjected him to sexual harassment in a public toilet, according to the prosecution. 

The incident came to light when the boy’s mother came across messages that Shefina had sent to the survivor on Facebook. She was arrested by the Thampanoor police eight months later. The prosecution examined seven witnesses, and the case was investigated by SP Prakash who was then the sub-inspector at Thampanoor. The convict has been sent to the women’s prison in Attakulangara in Thiruvananthapuram where she will be lodged in a special cell. She will soon be transferred to the special jail for transgender persons in Malampuzha, Palakkad.