NHRC issues notices to Karnataka govt, BMRCL over farmer being ‘stopped’ from boarding metro

The NHRC has sent a notice to the Karnataka government and the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation over a report that a farmer was allegedly ”stopped” from boarding a metro train by an official at a station because his clothes were ”untidy”, officials said on Wednesday.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in a statement, said it observes that ”no person can be denied access to public transport based on the nature of the clothes he or she is wearing”.

The commission has taken ”suo motu cognisance of a media report that a farmer was stopped from boarding a metro train by an official at the Rajajinagar station, Bengaluru in Karnataka because his clothes were untidy. Reportedly, the video of the incident went viral on social media,” it said.

The NHRC observed that the content of the media report, if true, amounts to a violation of human rights. If someone possesses any objectionable material, only then can he be stopped, according to the provisions of the law, it added.

It has issued notices to the Karnataka government chief secretary and the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) managing director, seeking a detailed report in four weeks.

It should also include the steps taken or proposed to be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur, the rights panel said.

”According to the media report, carried on February 27, the farmer was visible in the video standing with a sack of goods on his head at the bag checking point of the metro station. When an official stopped the farmer, another passenger objected to his action and asked him to show the rule that made a dress code mandatory for the metro passengers or whether the metro was meant only for VIPs. He shared the video of the incident on social media,” the statement said.