Lalit Kumar Salve walks out a new man after his discharge from St George hospital, where he underwent a genital reconstruction surgery last month. It is now seven months since mid-day began following the journey of the constable from Beed, who was born with the intersex phenotype and named Lalita at birth.

On November 17, 2017, this paper had broken the story about his request to the state police force to be recognised as a man. After months of applications, he finally got the green signal to go ahead with the surgery that would reconstruct his underdeveloped penis. In a few more weeks, he will achieve another dream of his —to resume duty as Lalit, not Lalita. Pic/Suresh Karkera