Mother, 5 others kill son for becoming transwoman in Salem, arrested

Upset over her 19-year-old son becoming a transwoman, a woman and five others were arrested for murdering him in Salem on Sunday.

According to police, Naveen Kumar, (19), son of Umadevi, (45) from Kannagi Street in Ammapalayam had initiated efforts to become a transwoman and stayed with other members of the transgender community in Bangalore.

Police said Naveen had visited his mother, who was residing alone after separating from her husband, during Deepavali. Meanwhile, last week Naveen was admitted with injuries to a government hospital and later died without responding to treatment.

Investigation by police revealed that Umadevi, who did not like her son becoming a transwoman, had assaulted him to death along with five others.

“She pressured him to take hormone injections to remain a male. When Naveen did not oblige, Umadevi assaulted him with friends resulting in his death,” police said.

Police arrested the woman along with other accused Venkadesh, Kamaraj, Karthikeyan, Santhosh and Sivakumar in connection with the murder. Further investigation is on.