Maharashtra female police constable gets leave for sex change operation

Lalita Salve, a Maharashtra female police constable from Beed, who was struggling for 8-9 months for the sanction of a one month leave from the police department for a sex reassignment operation (SRS), heaved a sigh of relief after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis finally agreed to sanction it.

Salve recently met the CM to submit her leave application. Subsequently, Fadnavis has confirmed that he has directed the Director General Police(DGP) to sanction her leave.

"I met CM sir and submitted an application to him. He assured me that the letter would be sent to DGP office and the leave would be sanctioned. It has been over 9 months that I am running to get the leave sanction. Now, as the CM has agreed to grant the leave, I am feeling relieved. However, I am still waiting to hear from the police department," Salve told DNA.

"We will check if we have received any communication from the CM's office. We do not know as of now as the DG's office was closed for four days due to the long weekend," said Satish Mathur, DGP of Maharashtra.

In 2014, constable Lalita Salve underwent a medical test which indicated that her body possessed male genes. In 2016, Salve again took a test at J J Hospital which suggested that she should change her sex.

Following which, Salve had sought leave in July 2017. After the leave was denied, she had moved the Bombay High Court which had dismissed Salve's petition.