Maharashtra cop who won sex change battle becomes a father

MUMBAI: On the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Jan 15, Beed constable Lalit Salve, who had successfully moved Bombay high court five years ago to undergo a sex change operation, had another reason to cheer: his wife delivered a baby boy.
In 2018, after he won the court battle, Salve approached doctors in state-run St George's Hospital, near CST, for the series of surgeries, but was overwhelmed to hear for the first time that he was genetically a male."I still remember how he started crying on hearing that he was a male by birth," said plastic surgeon Dr Rajat Kapur, who operated on Salve.
Salve thus only needed a genital reconstruction surgery. "He had an underdeveloped penis and one undescended testicle," said Dr Kapur, and added that by the time the surgeries were over, the medical team realised Salve would have normal sexual function and would have normal sperm. "It is hence not surprising that he had a child," he said. Unlike Salve, those who undergo sex change operations are sterile.
On Saturday, before going to work, Salve spent a busy morning getting his newborn vaccinated. His wife, Seema, underwent a caesarean section on Jan 15, and has been recuperating at home thereafter. "We are very happy at the moment," said Salve, who was brought up as a girl by his family and even underwent a surgery for removal of one of his testes in his childhood. However, he has said that he was always uncomfortable being a girl and decided to undergo a sex change operation after turning 30. "I want to give my child a good upbringing and values, and give him an opportunity to become a big IAS or IPS officer," he told TOI.
Meanwhile, Dr Kapur, who has since been transferred to JJ Hospital, Byculla, said he often refers patients seeking sex change to the OPD at St George's Hospital. The St George's OPD was set up following Salve's discharge, but its functioning was affected by the Covid pandemic.