Athlete Pinki Pramanik’s medical report reportedly says she bears both male and female characteristics, even as the Asiad gold medalist said the rape charges leveled against her were made with malicious intent to frame her.
A report in The Telegraph quotes doctors who conducted the tests on Pinki as saying she had a condition called “male pseudohermaphroditism.”
Male pseudohermaphrodites are genetic males (45,XY) who develop female configurations and identities. These individuals have testes, but their genital ducts and external genitalia are female. (Read more on the condition)
However The Telegraph quoted an expert as saying that further tests would need to be done.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media shortly after her release on bail, Pramanik said that the complaint was part of a personal vendetta against her.
Pramanik was arrested on 14 June and remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody by a court on 15 June after the athlete’s live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, filed a police complaint accusing the athlete of being a male who repeatedly “raped and tortured” her.
Subsequent to the arrest, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical check-up where the test reports claimed that the former top notch athlete was indeed a male. Pramanik, however, has claimed innocence and said it was a conspiracy.
Meanwhile the West Bengal Human Rights Commission has directed the home, health and police departments to inquire into the alleged ‘inhuman torture’ on the Asiad gold medalist in police and jail custody and submit a report within two weeks.
Pramanik’s condition means she is genetically male, but has the physical characteristics of a female: PTI
Pramanik was lodged in the male ward of the district jail and a leaked video of her undergoing a gender test went viral on the Internet.
The treatment meted out to the athlete has attracted criticism from the sporting fraternity as well.
“It’s a shame. I feel sad for Pinki who has earned laurels for the country. It’s a case of sexual harrassment. I urge the human rights authorities to step in,” two-time Olympian Saraswati Saha-Dey, who won 200m gold at the Busan Asian Games, told PTI.
“Male police officers have been escorting her and at times dragging her out from police vans. This is absolutely deplorable,” former national women’s swimming champion Bula Chowdhury said.
“She may be charged for a particular crime, but why is she being subjected to this harassment?” Arjuna Awardee Shanti Mullick asked.
The athlete has twice undergone gender determination tests in two different government hospitals, but on both the occasions the tests were inconclusive.
An 11-member medical board consisting of doctors from the government-run SSKM Hospital was constituted and conducted several tests on Pinki on 25 June. However, due to the lack of facilities, Karyotyping — a choromosomal test — could not be carried out.
The athlete’s 19 June test at another government hospital in North 24 Parganas also was inconclusive, following which the athlete was referred to the SSKM.
Pramanik, who retired from athletics three years ago, won gold in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha in Qatar. The runner was a silver medallist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year.
The Eastern Railway, with which the athlete is a ticket collector, suspended Pramanik on 16 June following her remand in judicial custody.
With inputs from agencies
