Elderly man denied entry to Bengaluru metro over ‘dirty clothes’, netizens angry

The viral video captured the incident involving an elderly man who was “denied entry into the Bengaluru Metro,” whom the commuters claimed to be a farmer.

A viral video showing Bengaluru Metro's security personnel allegedly denying entry to an elderly passenger because of his ‘dirty clothes’ has sparked outrage on social media.

The elderly man in the video remained silent while the video was being recorded.(X)

The elderly man, dressed in a white shirt and balancing a bundle of clothes on his head, was stopped at the security checkpoint at Rajajinagar metro station in the city.

The video on the microblogging platform X captured the incident involving an elderly man, whom commuters and the individual recording the video claimed to be a farmer.

“The officials did not allow him inside the metro despite him having a valid ticket, reasoning that his clothes were dirty. They simply claimed that there was a board stating this but could not show it when this guy asked. They also mentioned that other passengers might feel disgusted,” the commuter who recorded the video said.

“Is this a VIP transport? Isn't the transport supposed to be there for the public? Is there a dress code to travel on the metro?” the commuter questioned the security at the metro station.

The elderly man in the video remained silent while the video was being recorded. At the end of the video, the commuter was heard saying to the man who was denied entry, “Chalo bhaiyya…kaun kya bolega? (Let's go, brother…who is going to say what?)”

Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “UNBELIEVABLE..! Is metro only for VIPs? Is there a dress code to use Metro? I appreciate actions of Karthik C Airani, who fought for the right of a farmer at Rajajinagar metro station. We need more such heroes everywhere. @OfficialBMRCL train your officials properly.”

However, the Hindustan Times could not independently verify the video, and the quotes from the viral video were roughly translated from Kannada to English.

Later, Bengaluru Metro (Namma Metro) announced that the security supervisor had been sacked. This response came on Monday after the incident sparked outrage on social media.

“Our Metro is a public transport and after investigating the Rajajinagar incident, the service of the security supervisor has been terminated. The Corporation regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers,” Namma Metro wrote on X.

“Namma Metro is an inclusive public transport. The Rajajinagar incident is probed & the services of the security supervisor is terminated. BMRCL regrets the inconvenience caused to the Passenger,” the metro further said.

“Further, BMRCL also confirms that the passenger travelled in Namma metro from Rajajinagar to Majestic. Also, an internal committee is constituted for a detailed enquiry headed by Dy. Chief Security Officer. We again regret the incident,” it added.