A transgender person was shot dead in Mansehra's Kotkay area on Friday over a petty issue during a marriage function.

According to Mansehra police, the victim was allegedly handed a Rs1,000 bill and asked for change so it could be "showered" on the transgenders invited to dance at the party.

The victim, who identified herself as female, did not have any change to give the man upon which she was shot in the forehead.

Kismat Khan, another transgender who was performing at the party along with the victim, told DawnNewsTV that the accused first fired two bullets into the air and then shot her in the head.

“We both hail from Kehal area of Abbottabad and settled down in Mansehra to earn a livelihood through dancing,” she said.

She added that the two had been invited to perform at the wedding ceremony of the accused's friend where the incident occurred.

The bereaved members of the transgender community took to the streets in protest over the brutal killing and blocked the roads, demanding the arrest of the accused.

“Our community members are being killed without any reason in the entire province, but the police have failed to protect us,” said Maria Khan, the president of Shemale Association in Hazara.

“Who will provide us security? People kill us if we don’t meet their immoral demands,” she exclaimed.

Some community members were also seen assembled at the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where the body was taken for autopsy.

Rab Nawaz, the district police officer in Mansehra, told DawnNewsTV that the accused had a criminal background and had killed his uncle some years back.

“We have lodged a first information report (FIR) and the accused will soon be arrested,” he said.

The body was handed over to the community members after medico-legal proceedings.

According to Qamar Naseem, an activist working for the rights of transgender persons, this marks the 57th murder of a transgender in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2015 and the fourth this year.