The MRT Police have formed an investigation committee to probe allegations that sports trainer Sazzad Hossain Snigdho was detained and harassed by on-duty police at Farmgate Metro Station for wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Snigdho alleged that police officers labelled his attire “indecent” and held him at the station for nearly 40 minutes. He said that after conducting a training session at Ramna Park in the morning and completing work at Farmgate, he purchased a Metro Rail ticket to travel to Zia Uddan to conduct another training session.
However, as he was entering the station, a police officer called him over and barred him, claiming that travelling on the Metro Rail in shorts was not permitted.
Snigdho claimed he asked the police officers to produce any written rule prohibiting passengers from wearing shorts on the Metro Rail. Instead of showing a rule, the officers allegedly mocked and harassed him. He was eventually permitted to board the train after roughly 40 minutes following discussions with senior officials.
Video footage of the incident—showing Snigdho asking for written rules prohibiting travel in shorts while speaking with on-duty police officers—subsequently spread on social media, sparking public discussion.
Following the allegations, the MRT Police established an investigation committee headed by Additional Superintendent of Police Abu Ashraf Siddiqui.
MRT Police Inspector Sohel Chowdhury said that authorities are collecting video footage of the incident to ascertain what actually transpired, adding that legal action will be taken if the on-duty police officer is found to be at fault.
