'This was indecent?': Bengaluru man stopped at Cubbon Park metro for being barefoot and holding shoes

The thread has since drawn attention online, with users sharing their own similar experiences and also their thoughts about the incident.

A Bengaluru resident has sparked discussion online after sharing an account of being prevented from entering a metro station while barefoot and carrying his shoes in his hand.

The incident was described in a thread posted on X by user Shyam Mohan, who said he was stopped by security personnel at the Cubbon Park metro station earlier in the day.

According to Mohan, he had arrived at the station after finishing a run and had removed his shoes in order to stretch his feet before heading home.

In the post, he wrote: “Was stopped from entering the Bangalore metro today at Cubbon Parkstation because I was barefoot and carried my footwear in my hand.”

He said one of the explanations offered by metro security staff was that the situation was considered “indecent.”

Providing further background, Mohan explained that he had taken off his footwear shortly before entering the station. “Context: I was returning home from a run and took my shoes off to stretch my feet. That was how I entered the Cubbon Park metro station,” he wrote.

He added that walking into the station barefoot was not something he had been prevented from doing previously.

“This wasn’t the first time I’d done this but it was the first time I’ve been stopped,” the post stated.

Mohan also described his interaction with the first security guard who confronted him at the station entrance. According to his account, the guard spoke to him in a manner he considered hostile and insisted that he wear his footwear before entering. “The first security guard was quite abrasive. Told me I needed to put my shoes on, that this was indecent and I might even take my shirt off next,” he wrote.

During the exchange, Mohan said he questioned whether such restrictions would also apply to religious pilgrims who often walk barefoot in public places.

“I asked him about Sabarimala goers who walk around barefoot,” he wrote, referring to devotees travelling to the well-known pilgrimage site in Kerala.

Was stopped from entering the Bangalore metro today at Cubbon Park station because I was barefoot and carried my footwear in my hand. One explanation from metro security was that this was “indecent”?@OfficialBMRCL@ChristinMP_@dhanyarajendran@PoojaPrasanna4 1/7

— Shyam Mohan (@stuckwthnaskull) March 13, 2026

He said the guard then told him to leave the station premises and return only after placing the footwear inside some form of covering. “He then demanded that I go out & find a cover to put the shoes in,” Mohan wrote.

According to the thread, Mohan declined to follow the instruction and attempted to enter the station through another gate instead, believing the first encounter might have reflected an individual guard’s judgement rather than an official policy.

“I asked him to bugger off and moved onto the next metro gate, wondering if this was a lone guard’s personal bias,” he wrote. However, he said he was again prevented from entering, this time by other security personnel stationed at a different entrance.

While he described the second interaction as calmer, Mohan said the guards maintained that they could not allow him to proceed in the same manner. “But I was stopped at the next gate too, this time by more reasonable guards who told me that they were helpless and actually explained why this was the case,” he wrote.

According to what he was told, the restriction had recently begun to be enforced following a complaint from another commuter. “Turns out this rather arbitrary rule was being implemented after a passenger had recently complained about people riding the metro with shoes in hand,” Mohan wrote.

He speculated that the complaint may have been related to runners using the metro after exercising in the area around Cubbon Park. “I can only assume that they were complaining about a fellow runner considering this happened at Cubbon Park metro station,” he added.

Mohan said he now intends to seek clarification from the relevant authorities about whether such restrictions form part of official operating rules for the metro system. “I would like to understand from the right authorities now if this is standard practice across BMRCL,” he wrote, referring to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, which operates the city’s metro network.

He also suggested that he might attempt entering other metro stations in the same manner to determine whether similar restrictions are applied elsewhere. “Tempted to try this at other metro stations & see if I’m stopped in a similar fashion. Maybe I’ll try Lal Bagh next?” he wrote.

Although he described the issue as relatively minor, Mohan said he viewed the matter as part of a broader question about access to public spaces.

“It’s a tiny hill to die on but I’m not willing to cede a public space to some uncle/aunty who decided that footwear carried by hand is offensive to their sensibilities,” he wrote.

The thread has since drawn attention online, with users sharing their own similar experiences and also their thoughts about the incident.

"Bhai this happened to me as well one day after turf, matlab kuch bhi logic?" a user questioned.

Another user commented, "Anything one does in Cubbon Park and its periphery seems to be an offence now. The only thing left to be added to the list is breathing. I won't be surprised if that gets regulated too. Can public spaces just be public spaces for once!"

Meanwhile, a user asked Mohan why he could not carry a bag for his shoes. "I go to the gym and I run regularly too. But I never carry my stinky shoes openly for others to smell. It is always inside a bag. Why wouldn't you want to carry it inside a bag or even a cover? Any risk carrying shoes and sweaty socks in a bag?"