"I was so excited to put on my khaki uniform again, I barely slept the entire night," said Lalit Salve, 29. He marched into Majalgaon (urban) police station proudly, as he had done so many times before - except, this was the first time he was reporting to work as a man. "It's an entirely new identity for me, a completely different life. I feel so proud to enter my police station as a male cop," he said.

The 29-year-old had left as Lalita, and has now returned as Lalit, just three weeks after undergoing a genital reconstruction surgery at St George hospital in Mumbai. It's the first time the entire village and even the Beed police have witnessed such a transformation, so Lalit was pleasantly surprised when his colleagues welcomed him back with their heart and arms wide open.