Pinki Pramanik case: Gynaecologists talk of genetic reasons, sex change

As police Thursday detained Asian games gold medalist Pinki Pramanik after a complaint was filed that she is a male and has allegedly raped a woman, leading gynaecologists feel genetic problems can lead to dual sexual identity.

"Such kind of incidents are quite common, where due to genetic reasons we can find females with male features. A female, who is genetically female, may have male features which are quite dominant," said Aruna Tantia, a gynaecologist.

Pramanik was arrested after a complaint was made that she is a male and has allegedly raped a woman, police said Thursday.

Following the complaint, Pramanik was taken to a private nursing home for a medical checkup where the test reports claimed she was a male. She, however, refused to sign the forms for a second test at a government hospital. Police later obtained a court order to conduct another medical checkup at a government hospital soon to determine her sex.

Another gynaecologist Partha Sarathi Banerjee, however, said it was quite possible that the athlete may have undergone a sex change after retiring from sports.

"The question is whenever an athlete participates in a tournament there is a physical checkup and it is nearly impossible to hide one's sexual identity. But there is a possibility that the athlete might have gone for a sex change after retiring. In case of sex change, such kind of things are quite possible," he told IANS.

Pramanik won gold in 4×400 metres relay at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. She was a silver medalist at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the same year.

She retired from athletics three years ago.