Bike-borne youths gunned down Sumana Dhar, a transgender person, when she was about to step into her house in Sabitri Pally in Nimta, about 16km north from the heart of Calcutta, on Sunday evening.

Sumana was a prominent voice within the community, who would protest against alleged wrongdoings by some of the members in Birati, Nimta and adjoining areas.

Some of those who knew the 32-year-old said Sumana used to attend meetings and conferences on transgender rights and tried to persuade several of the community members not to engage in infighting.

In Nimta, Sumana organised small meetings to try and influence some of the community members to refrain from certain activities that create a wrong impression about transgender people in public minds, police said.

“Sumana came across as a very upright individual who wanted to reform some members of the community across parts of North 24-Parganas,” said Ranjita Sinha, a transgender activist and former member of the West Bengal Transgender Welfare Board.

“This murder sends out very disturbing signals for our community.”

The police said four youths came riding motorcycles around 7pm and fired four bullets from close range, leaving Sumana in a pool of blood on the road leading to her house, which is located in an area under North Dum Dum Municipality.

The bullets pierced Sumana’s back, the police said. Alarmed at the sound of gunfire, some residents of the locality rushed to the spot and took Sumana to Panihati State General Hospital in Sodepur.

Sumana was later shifted to a nursing home in Barasat, where the activist died.

“We have learnt that Sumana had gone out in the afternoon to attend an invitation and was returning home in the evening when she was shot. It appears the assassins had information about Sumana’s schedule,” said a senior officer of Nimta police station.

The police are scanning CCTV footage and also Sumana’s mobile call records. Officers have also spoken to some members of the community who knew Sumana closely.

Officers have also met those who had invited Sumana for lunch on Sunday afternoon.

“We have got in touch with officers from police stations adjoining Nimta, which look after areas that have a sizable transgender population. It seems assassins were hired for the job,” said the officer of Nimta police station.