DEHRADUN: Seventeen-year-old Ajay Pal , who considers himself a transgender, has claimed harassment by the eunuch community in Dehradun. He alleged that leader of the community, Rajni Rawat , had forcibly shaved off his head on Monday.However, Rawat said that Pal, posing as an eunuch, collected money from people in the area. Pal is not part of their community, Rawat added.Pal was recently in the news after doctors at Doon's Coronation Hospital said on Republic Day that they will assist him in realizing his dream of changing his sex.Rawat said, "He is bringing shame to our community. We know for sure that he is not like us. He behaves like a eunuch to collect money, although he is a normal boy. He starts clapping like us at traffic signals to make some easy money. This is not acceptable to us. We tried persuading him to stop his activities but he failed to understand that he was harming our dignity. We are such by birth not by surgery. We never had a choice like him."Pal, on the other hand, told doctors at Coronation hospital that he was being tortured by his neighbours and that he wanted to live in the eunuch community.L C Punetha, CMS of Coronation Hospital, said, "Pal came to us first for hernia operation, then he then approached us for a sex change surgery. It's an advanced surgery and there is a lot of legality around it, so we first suggested him to visit Delhi."Dr N S Bisht from Coronation hospital said, "I am shocked to hear about the head-shaving incident. He is just a boy and the act is absolutely shameful. People are not understanding his problems, they are just harassing him even more."The boy also sought social security from the hospital but was asked to approach the police.TOI got in touch with the head of the transgender community in Dehradun, Tejas Dogra, who accepted that there is some problem with Pal. He told TOI, "He is confused and is also form a financially weak background. Thought it is too early to make any comment on the matter, but the boy needs counseling first. It is a sensitive matter and it needs to be dealt with care."TOI tried to contact Ajay Pal but he remained unavailable for any comment and his family refrained from given a statement.

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