A 25-year-old individual from Madhya Pradesh who underwent a gender reassignment procedure has accused her lover of rape and physical abuse after he refused to marry her following the surgery, a police official said on Thursday.

The complainant and the accused, both about 25, had first met in Narmadapuram about 10 years ago. They lived together for a long time and were also in a same-sex relationship, the official said.

According to the complainant, a resident of Obedullaganj in Raisen district, the accused had pressed her to undergo the gender-affirming surgery. However, he allegedly refused to marry her after the procedure.

The Bhopal police acted on her complaint and registered a ‘Zero FIR’ on Wednesday before forwarding the case to the Narmadapuram police as the accused is a resident of that district, the official said.

A Zero FIR can be registered by any police station, regardless of jurisdiction, where the crime was committed.

Gandhinagar police station in-charge Brijendra Merskole told PTI that the case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections concerning rape and physical abuse.

Merskole said the complainant has claimed that the accused also performs occult rituals. Before the gender reassignment procedure, he allegedly used to exploit the complainant.

The official said the complainant underwent the surgery in an Indore hospital some time ago and became a woman. The complainant was medically examined, which confirmed her gender change, he said.

Police quoted the complainant as saying that a few months after the surgery, the accused started avoiding her and subsequently refused to marry her. This prompted her to approach the police.

– Ends