Lalit Salve, the 32-year-old police constable from Beed who had undergone genital reconstruction procedure at the Mumbai’s St. George Hospital, is busy preparing for his wedding reception on Sunday.
Overjoyed to start a new chapter, Lalit — who has lived three decades of his life as Lalita — says he had never imagined a woman would marry him after knowing his story. “I have lived the life of a woman and I know what women face when they take bold decisions. My wife has shown immense courage by agreeing to marry me,” said Mr. Salve who married 22-year-old Seema Bansode on February 16. Mr. Salve says it was an arranged marriage.
“My relatives had spoken about me to her parents a few months ago. Nothing moved forward then. But Seema had already started reading about me,” said Mr. Salve adding that Ms. Bansode saw him at a function and told her parents that she would like to marry him.
Lalita knew she was Lalit; now doctors say he is right
At birth, Mr. Salve was mistaken for a female because of underdeveloped genitalia; but he had the XY chromosomes of a biological male.
Mr. Salve says his journey has been stressful. He was recruited as a female police constable and his case came into the limelight when his leave application to undergo the sex-change procedure was rejected. Eventually, after he got the go-ahead from the Superintendent of Police in Beed, Mr. Salve underwent the procedure. He was later inducted as a male constable in the ‘Shakti Pathak’ — a special team to curb eve-teasing and ensure general protection of women.
