Meet Lalit Salve, Maharashtra Police constable who underwent sex change surgery and is now a father

Lalit Salve, 36, underwent three sex-reassignment surgeries between 2018 and 2020.

Lalit Salve, a Maharashtra Police constable from Beed district who underwent a sex-reassignment surgery to become a man, is now embracing fatherhood. Lalit Salve, 36, got married in 2020 and became a father to a boy on January 15. The couple has decided to name their son Aarush.

Cop who underwent sex change surgery becomes father

“My journey from being a woman to a man was full of struggles. During this time, I was blessed to have many people who supported me. My wife Seema wished to have a child…I am happy that I have become a father now. My family is thrilled,” Salve told the media.

Who is Lalit Salve and what is his journey?

1. Born in June 1988, Lalit Salve (formerly Lalita) joined the Maharashtra Police in 2010 and has been posted at Majalgaon city police station in the state's Beed district.
2. Brought up as a woman, Salve began developing trans-sexual gender symptoms in 2013. He underwent a genetic test called karyotyping (analysis of the entire chromosome complement) in early 2017, four years after he began noticing some changes in his body. The test confirmed the presence of the ‘Y’ chromosome in his body, establishing his gender identity as male.
3. In November 2017, the constable moved the Bombay high court seeking a month's leave to undergo sex-reassignment surgery, which was granted. He underwent three surgeries between 2018 and 2020 in the state-run St George Hospital in Mumbai's Fort area.
4. Salve married Seema on February 16, 2019 - after all the surgeries were done. They were blessed with a baby boy on January 15. On the birth of Salve's child, Rajat Kapoor - the plastic surgeon who operated on him, clarified that though Salve had sired a child, not everyone who underwent sex reassignment surgery could hope to do so.
5. Meanwhile, Salve has also become the de-facto go-to person for many seeking sex reassignment. Reportedly, he has counselled over 30 people over sex change surgeries.