Transgender ex-student missing, Sonipat Ashoka University accused of religious conversion

The Haryana State Commission for Women has directed the Rohtak and the Sonepat police to produce before it by tomorrow a transgender former student of Ashoka University, Sonepat. The ex-student’s parents have lodged a complaint with the commission accusing the university — where the girl studied until 2023 — of “indoctrinating” her.

The parents, both academicians, said they had not met their daughter for over two years. The mother showed this reporter her daughter’s childhood pictures with her younger sibling. The father told The Tribune, “My child was bright and scored 96 per cent in Class XII. We spent lakhs on her education at Ashoka University, only to see her being snatched from us.”

He said the family was longing to see her. “We don’t know her financial condition and who’s keeping her away from us? We want to help her out and will let her live the way she wants. She could be in trouble. She couldn’t even complete her studies,” he added, his sound tinged in desperation.

The transgender allegedly went missing from her home on October 24, 2023. The family lodged an FIR and based on call records, she was traced to the residence of an Ashoka University employee, Sushmita Anant. The parents alleged when the police reached Anant’s house, the university administration “helped their daughter escape”.

The transgender was found two days later and she told the Sonepat police she left her home because of “parental abuse”, and that “she no longer wanted to return”. She maintained she was a major and had the right to reside wherever she wished. She alleged threat from her family and sought protection. She repeated the statement before the court and the case was closed.