Pakistan police recover brutally tortured body of transgender in Peshawar city

Police in Pakistan's Peshawar city recovered a body of a transgender person bearing signs of brutal torture on Saturday (21 October).

The body was found at least three days after the death, police said and added that they have not been able to identify the deceased yet.

Police have collected DNA and fingerprints of the body and are investigating the death, according to Dawn newspaper. They have also contacted the local transgender community to identify the body but have not got any leads so far.

The head of the community in Peshawar, Laila Khan, confirmed to police that the victim was not from Peshawar, police said.

It was not clear how the person was killed and what could be the possible motive behind the murder.

The incident reportedly took place in Ashiqabad area near Warsak Road in Peshawar, Senior Superintendent of Police Sajjad Khan told the paper. He added that they have registered a murder case against unidentified persons and an investigation is underway.

Farzana, the president of TransAction – a rights organisation in Peshawar, reportedly told the news outlet that more than 50 transgender persons have been killed in the country between 2015 and 2016.

While official statistics show that Pakistan has at least half a million transgender nationals, TransAction claims the number is closer to two million.