Missing Transgender Candidate Contesting Telangana Elections Found, Claims She Was Abducted

At the time when Telangana is right about to go to polls, one of the candidates, Chandramukhi Muvvala, a trans woman who had gone missing, has been found. As per the police, she was nowhere to be found since Tuesday morning, a ‘missing persons’ case was also registered, However, on Wednesday night she turned up at the Banjara Hills police station, in Hyderabad along with her lawyer and some activists. She is the first transgender candidate standing for elections in Telangana.

According to The News Minute, the latest development came after, Chandramukhi’s mother, Anitha Muvvala, who was represented by her lawyer Vasudha Nagraj, filed a habeas corpus writ petition in the Hyderabad High Court. While hearing the appeal the Hyderabad HC had asked the Jubilee Hills police to produce her before the court by Thursday.

While speaking to The News Minute, Lawyer Anitha has confirmed that Chandramukhi is back, she further said that Chandramukhi was abducted and she was also intimidated by some people. The lawyer said that Chandramukhi is dazed and disoriented for now, and the rest of the information would be shared by the family in the court. Chandramukhi was expected to be produced before the Hyderabad HC today by 10 am.

According to The News Minute, Chandramukhi, who is a well-known transgender activist, is contesting from Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad on a Bahujan Left Front (BLF) ticket.

CCTV tells another story

The logical Indian had spoken to the Banjara Hills police station where the case of “missing person” was registered. According to the police, Chandramukhi went to sleep at 5 am on Tuesday. Reportedly, she had asked someone to wake her up at 7 am. However, when her party workers went to her house she was not to be found there.

Inspector Srinivas Kasthuri, from the Banjara Hills police station, told us that they checked the CCTV footage that they received from the vicinty of her house. He said that in the CCTV footage she was seen going out of her house at 8.17 am. He also told us that her phone got switched off somewhere near Yaramanzil Colony, which is approximately 2-3 km away from her residence. “Till now there are a lot of angles in the case. However, we can not confirm anything as of now. The investigations are going on,” said the inspector.

Fight with bigwigs

In the poll-bound state, Chandramukhi is contesting against bigwigs like BJP’s Raja Singh and Congress’ Mukesh Goud. According to the one of her party worker, Vinu, who is tasked with the campaign schedule, she (Chandramukhi) mostly informed him about all her whereabouts.

“We approached the police only at 2.30 pm. We waited, hoping she would come back by then,” he said to the press, as reported by The News Minute.

He has also alleged that an unknown person was seen lurking around her house in the CCTV footage. He claims that he could have been involved in her disappearance.

Out of the 3,584 candidates contesting in the Telangana polls, Chandramukhi Muvvala is the first and the only transgender candidate. Polling in Telangana would start on December 7, 2018. Associated with the Telangana Hijra Intersex Transgender Samiti, Chandramukhi has been a vocal activist for transgender rights. She has participated in many rallies seeking for better facilities for the transgender community. Chandramuki’s party campaign had started just a day before she got missing, as reported by the NDTV.

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