MARDAN: One transgender person was shot dead and another injured when unknown motorcyclists opened fire on their car near the Museum building located here on Mardan-Charsadda road.

Officials of Saddar police station said on Saturday that the firing incident took place on Friday midnight.

One transgender person identified as Sadiq alias Coconut died on the spot while the other named Salman alias Wara (small) was taken to the Mardan Medical Complex Hospital with bullet injuries for necessary treatment.

The police quoted the injured Salman alias Wara as saying that they along with other transgender persons were on their way back to Mardan from Charsadda district after attending a music function when the incident happened.

Salman told police that two unknown armed persons riding on a motorcycle opened fire on their car when their vehicle was passing near the Mardan Museum building.

He said that they did not know the attackers as they had no enmity or dispute with anyone.

The police said they lodged an FIR against unknown killers on the complaint of the injured person and had started investigations to trace and arrest the real perpetrators of the crime.

In a similar firing incident that took place about eight days ago, one transgender person identified as Iqbal alias Chand was killed and another named Zamarud was injured when unknown armed persons entered their residential room located near Charsadda Chowk and opened firing on them.

Separately, police foiled a bid to abduct a transgender person and arrested five alleged abductors in the limits of Chamkani police station, Peshawar, in early hours of Saturday.

A police statement said a transgender person identified as Sheeza was returning her home in Hayatabad after performing at a wedding function in Sardar Ghari village in the outskirts of the city.

The transgender person said the music show ended prematurely due to a brawl. She said that while she was returning home, five people intercepted the vehicle in which she was travelling along with a friend. She said the armed men abducted her at gunpoint.

The statement said the police personnel stopped the vehicle at Ghaz Chowk

where the transgender person made hue and cry, after which the police recovered her and arrested the suspects identified as Zahid, Habib, Abdul Wahab, Saleem and Nisar.

The transgender person told police that the suspects threatened to rape and kill her. The police registered an FIR and have started investigations.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2022