Delhi High Court grants police protection to 19-year-old US transgender

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted police protection to a 19-year-old transgender NRI who was forcibly brought to India by her parents to be 'reformed', reports The Indian Express. 

The teenager, who identifies as male, lived with her family in California but was forcibly brought back to India to be 'fixed' after her family found out about her girlfriend. Speaking to the Indian Express, she said that her family took away her passport and Green Card after bringing her to India.

According to the report, she was granted police protection after filing a plea that stated that her father, an “influential businessman” with “deep roots in Uttar Pradesh”,  had “activating the state machinery” and deprived her of “fundamental rights to life, liberty and education”. She also said that her parents were trying to force her to marry a  man of their choice.

Before being brought to India, the girl had been studying neurobiology in the US. Once in India she was enrolled in Agra's Dayalbagh Educational Institute against her will and was threatened against revealing her sexuality and gender preference to anyone.

The girl reached out to the National Centre for Lesbian Rights in the US and was put in touch with LGBT activists who helped her leave Agra on September 10 and come to Delhi.

The girl's plea said that two UP Police personnel had raided the residences of two activists in Delhi without search warrants to find her.

The  High Court bench has issued notices to the UP Resident Commissioner and her father to respond to the allegations. The plea has also sought release of her travel documents and “safe passage” to the US.