Indian police arrt three who targeted men on gay datg app | Rters

Contents:

• INDIAN POLICE ARRT THREE WHO TARGETED MEN ON GAY DATG APP
• I WAS AN OFFICER IN THE INDIAN ARMY, I'M GAY AND VERY PROUD
• POLICE VLENCE IN INDIA DRIV A GAY COUPLE TO THE U.S. — AND A DETENTN CELL

INDIAN POLICE ARRT THREE WHO TARGETED MEN ON GAY DATG APP

REUTERS/Aly Song/Illtratn/Fil Acquire Licensg RightsAHMEDABAD, India Feb 15 (Rters) - Indian police said on Tuday they had arrted three members of a gang they acced of beatg up and robbg men ntacted through the e of a gay datg sex is no longer a crimal offence India, but the fear of beg ostracised or ridiculed prompts several among the South Asian natn's LGBT muny to keep their sexual inty secret, makg them easy prey for the unscpulo. Jaja, a police officer Ahmedabad, the ma cy of the wtern state of Gujarat, where the arrts were add that the acced ed the gay datg app Grdr to fd potential victims, before lurg them to seclud areas to be beaten up or robbed, some s through forcible bank were bettg their victims would keep quiet for fear that their preferenc would be exposed, but one plaed to police. Officials of Grdr did not immediately rpond to qutns about the recent years Grdr has pledged a "zero tolerance policy" toward racism, transphobia and other discrimatn as the datg app looks to crack down on abive the Supreme Court crimalised gay sex 2018, public opn India's biggt ci has favoured scrappg the lonial-era law on the matter, but relig groups and nservative ral muni rema opposed.

Millns of gay Indians sudnly beme crimals when the Indian Supreme Court rtored the untry's sodomy law December. That's how he met Manr, now 25, who also traed as a knew om a young age that he was gay, but when his parents picked a bri for him at 16, he married her whout argument. Had they known he was gay, he said, "they would kill me at once.

He gave suggtn [to go to] the Uned Stat … bee the Uned Stat has very good protectn for homosexuals, " Manoj said.

I WAS AN OFFICER IN THE INDIAN ARMY, I'M GAY AND VERY PROUD

"If you will stay here, your fay [will] know … you're a homosexual. They thought about returng to India, but when they spoke wh their fai on the phone, they threatened to kill them if they returned now that was known they were gay. Back Cyps, Manoj had bed Facebook to fd gay English speakers the cy who might help them, and he ma a iend who helped them secure a hotel room and get there om the airport.

"We are jt feelg guilty: 'Why we are homosexual, why we always have the kd of problems? "They are g bad ment wh each other, " Manoj said, remarks like, "You are homosexuals — who's the hband and who's the wife? " He firmly believ homophobia motivated their beg kept tentn the first place — "This is sure, " he said.

"We are feelg like homosexualy is a crime everywhere, " he told me. In 2017, when he told his parents he was gay, their illn of him as the perfect son shattered. Unlike Sourav, who nfintly asserts himself as a gay man spe the phback om his loved on, back the 1980s and 1990s, I had no termology to scribe what I was.

POLICE VLENCE IN INDIA DRIV A GAY COUPLE TO THE U.S. — AND A DETENTN CELL

There was emotnal blackmail, cludg beg blamed for his mother’s illns; beg taken by his parents to nsult a homophobic nropsychiatrist who diagnosed him wh a “sexual disorr”, prcribed meditn for and remend unsellg to rrect his ways; and opprsive parental surveillance, aid by the lack of privacy their two-room home. To his horror, she told him that he was “not normal”, followed by advice monly given to young gay men: bee more “mascule”. He believ that if his father had not been homophobic, his mother would have e around by now.

The transphobic and homophobic people peddlg illegal, unscpulo treatments are not likely to disappear overnight.