Athletics coach harassed at metro station saying his shorts “indecent”

An athletics coach was made to stand at a metro station after he arrived to board a train wearing a T-shirt and shorts following his morning workout.

A police officer on duty reportedly kept the coach standing in front of the ticket-punching machine for 40 minutes, calling his clothing “indecent”.

The incident took place at Farmgate metro station in the capital on Sunday morning.

The coach, Sazzad Hossain, has been training marathon and ultramarathon runners for around 10 years. He also runs regularly himself and provides training at several parks in Dhaka in the early morning.

Following the incident, Sazzad Hossain posted a video on his Facebook account.

The 55-second video begins with a smiling police officer. His nameplate reads Zakir. At one point, he can be heard saying, “Wait a moment, let me fix my hair.”

When Sazzad Hossain later asked why he was not allowed to enter the station wearing shorts, the police officer said, “You have been told to dress a little more decently. This does not fall entirely within the bounds of decency.”

Sazzad Hossain then asked, “Is there anything in your rules that specifies what is decent and what is not?” In response, the police officer, identified as Zakir, said, “It is my responsibility to determine that.”

When asked about the incident, a senior metro rail official told Prothom Alo that there is no dress code for passengers using the metro rail. He said he did not know why the police had subjected the man to such unnecessary harassment.

Prothom Alo contacted the MRT Police public relations officer several times, but he did not answer the calls. He also did not respond to a text message sent via WhatsApp.

Prothom Alo later spoke to Sazzad Hossain by phone. He said he had been training in Ramna in the morning and had some work in Farmgate afterwards. He went to Farmgate metro station to travel to Bijoy Sarani after completing his work.

As he entered the station after purchasing a ticket, a police officer on duty called him over. The officer reprimanded him, saying, “Hey you, what kind of dress are you wearing? You cannot enter the metro wearing this kind of indecent dress!”

Sazzad Hossain told the officer that he was a running coach and was travelling by metro rail after completing a training session. He also asked the officer to show him any rule stating that passengers could not travel on the metro wearing shorts.

According to Sazzad Hossain, two other police officers at the scene told him that the metro station was a public place and that he could not enter dressed that way.

One of them told him to return wearing trousers. He was even told to take off his shorts, leave them behind and return wearing trousers. He said the officers kept him standing there for around 40 minutes.

Sazzad Hossain alleged that a female official from the metro rail control board also questioned him about his clothing. He said the official took a photograph of him and went to speak to senior authorities.

He was eventually allowed to board the metro after the authorities concerned gave him permission to travel.

Sazzad Hossain also said that he filed a written complaint at Farmgate metro station after the incident. However, he was not given a copy of the complaint. He said he was also not allowed to photograph it when he wanted to do so.

Expressing his disappointment, Sazzad Hossain said that receiving comments about one’s clothing from ordinary people and being prevented from using public transport because of one’s clothing at a government institution were not the same thing.

“A person going out for exercise in the morning will naturally wear running clothes. If wearing shorts is prohibited on the metro rail, they should have shown me the written rule.”

Asked about the incident, Sazzad Siddiqui, a professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that the conduct of the MRT Police reflected institutional failure.

He said, “When a mob forms around an individual or someone is unjustly attacked, it is the police’s responsibility to rescue that person. But when the police themselves take on the role of the perpetrator, the matter becomes even more alarming.”

Professor Sazzad Siddiqui said, “When ordinary people’s personal aggression is combined with the uniform and institutional power of the police, it takes an even more alarming form of social deterioration. Therefore, it is essential to hold the person concerned accountable.”