Twenty hours after Chandramukhi, the transgender candidate contesting the Telangana elections on a Bahujan Left Front (BLF) ticket, went missing, the trans community in Hyderabad has stated that they will be filing a habeas corpus writ petition with the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday. The community will also be filing a complaint with the Telangana Election Commission.

“We are trying to get a noon hearing. We are trying to put pressure on the police to take the matter seriously and hasten the investigation,” said Vaijayanthi Mowgli, the transgender activist who preparing the documents to file with the Election Commission and High Court, “We still have no clarity on her whereabouts as of now,” she added.

Chandramukhi has reportedly been missing since 8.25 am on Tuesday. A missing person’s complaint was filed, based on which an FIR was registered at the Banjara Hills Police Station. The police have formed a special team comprising around 15 to 20 officers to try and trace her.

The police on Tuesday reviewed CCTV footage of Chandramukhi’s residence and remain tight-lipped about their investigation.

“The last call she received was at 8.17 am on Tuesday and her phone was traced to somewhere around Yaramanzil Colony, around 2 to 3 km away from her residence in Banjara Hills, but is now switched off. She was noticed missing since 8.25 am and the door of her house has been locked from outside,” the Banjara Hills SHO told TNM on Tuesday.

The last person to call Chandramukhi has been identified as Raju, a BLF party worker.

“When the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Banjara Hills showed us the number, we identified the number to be that of Raju. The ACP then called Raju, who told the ACP that he had called Chandramukhi to talk about election-related issues,” said Sandhya, President, Progressive Organisation of Women (POW).

Chandramukhi, a well-known face in Hyderabad’s trans community, is contesting from the Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad on a Bahujan Left Front (BLF) ticket. She will be taking on bigwigs such as the BJP’s Raja Singh and Congress’ Mukesh Goud.

“We fear for her safety and condemn the lack of safety measures organized for her and for other women and transgender candidates, which acts as a strong force that dissuades transgender persons and women from joining politics. Chandramukhi’s campaign kicked off just one day before she went missing,” a press release by the Telangana Hijra Trans Samiti said.

Chandramukhi is the first and the only transgender candidate out of 1,821 candidates contesting in the Telangana elections, scheduled to be held on December 7. In her interview with TNM earlier this week, she expressed her intention to fix the bare basics in Goshamahal.

“I’m not promising them the world and I won’t promise to provide each and every person with a job and that I will do everything. Road facility is terrible, roadside areas and by-lanes are in bad shape, housing schemes are bad; we don’t even have water facilities in some areas. Drainage collection is bad and there is a division between the rich and the poor. I will remove that first,” Chandramukhi had said, speaking to TNM.