MHRC issues direction to Imphal West SP
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 29 2025: The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has issued urgent directions to Imphal West Superintendent of Police (SP) in response to a complaint filed by Usham Deepika Chanu, a transgender woman who was subjected to a violent assault by members of her own family, followed by a disturbing pattern of police inaction, Advocate Meihoubam Rakesh Singh said a statement.

He said that Deepika who is legally recognised as female under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, had approached the Imphal police station on November 12 2025 with a written report revealing grave cognizable offences committed against her.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the police took no action whatsoever - no FIR was registered, no statement was recorded, and no procedural step was initiated, he said and added that a further representation addressed to the Superintendent of Police on November 19, 2025 also remained unanswered.

Acting Chairperson of MHRC K Khagendra Singh, after hearing the matter on November 28 2025, has directed the Imphal West SP to issue appropriate instructions to the Officer-in-Charge of Imphal police station and to submit a compliance report before the Commission by 22 December 2025, the Advocate added.

While the order brings immediate relief to Deepika, it also brings into focus a much deeper and more troubling reality, he said stressing that incidents of violence, intimidation, humiliation, economic deprivation, and forced suppression of gender identity are experienced by a significant number of transgender persons within their own families and households.

He said that such incidents are not isolated but far more common than publicly acknowledged.

Yet, despite the prevalence of such abuse, it is extremely rare for a transgender person-or their household to formally report these violations, he continued and maintained that fear of retaliation, fear of losing shelter or economic support, intense social stigma, and the well-founded apprehension of discriminatory treatment by police authorities often force transgender individuals to suffer in silence.

The Advocate said that Deepika's decision to seek legal recourse-both against her assailants and against the discriminatory inaction of the police is an extraordinary and courageous step.

Her complaint, now backed by an MHRC directive, does not merely represent an individual grievance but exposes a systemic failure in the protection of transgender persons' rights in Manipur, he said, highlighting the pressing need for police sensitisation, strict adherence to the Transgender Persons(Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and the establishment of mechanisms that allow transgender persons to report violence safely and without fear.

Comment