Anannyah Kumari Alex a native of Kollam Peruman, the first transgender radio jockey and the first from the community in Kerala to contest the state assembly polls was found dead in her Kochi flat on Tuesday evening. According to the Kalamassery Police, Anannyah was hanging inside the bedroom in the apartment.
According to the police, her death appears to be because of her physical distress. Police are probing the matter.
Earlier, the 28-year-old had said that she was suffering from serious health issues following her gender reassignment surgery in 2020.
In her interview to The Cue, Anannyah had levelled allegations of medical negligence against doctors at Kochi-based Renai MultiSpeciality hospital who perfomed the sex reassignment surgery conducted a year ago in June 2020. She alleged that the surgery was not a success and that the hospital was allegedly denying her treatment records when sought. Anannyah had also said that for the past one year after her surgery, she has been suffering from various issues.
“Even when I stand for a longer time, sneeze, laugh or even brush my teeth, I have severe discomforts. I have also been experiencing breathing difficulties. I had wished for a sex reassignment surgery that will give me a vagina like a woman’s.. but my private part looks as if it has been cut ruthlessly with a knife. It cannot be called a vagina.. It is a surgery which is conducted very neatly and cleanly in India and elsewhere. I’m standing before you as a victim of gross medical negligence,” she said.
“I have severe pain in my vaginal part. It is undescribable. Sometimes I cannot sit… even my urine is not passing correctly,” she added.
In the video, she had also named the doctors who conducted the surgery. She also alleged that there are other transgender persons who have faced similar medical negligence from the same hospital and same doctor.
“I want to regain my health, I want resurgey. I’m talking as a representative of many others like me. There are scores of people who have been victims of this. The money for the surgeries are painstakingly made by many through sex work, pooling from here and there, and even begging. And hospitals even charge more than what had been told before. But after all that, when this is the result people get, what are they supposed to do? Why are marginalised people like us being attacked like this for money?” Anannyah added.
She had also said that she is mulling legal action against the hospital and the doctors who held the surgery. “I really hope I will get justice. I request you all to stand with me,” Anannyah had said.
