Bengaluru Mall That Denied Entry To Elderly Man For Wearing Dhoti To Be Temporarily Closed

An elderly man was stopped by security and denied entry at Bengaluru’s GT Mall on Tuesday in Bengaluru because he was wearing a ‘dhoti’. Following the incident, the Karnataka government has directed the shopping mall to shut down for a week.

In a video, the elderly man in traditional Indian attire is seen outside the mall with his son. The son described the ordeal and showed the video of security personnel denying entry to them.

Reportedly, the father-son duo had tickets booked for a movie but were denied entry due to the elderly man’s attire. Allegedly, the security personnel asked the man to change into pants to enter.

The elderly man tried to explain that he couldn’t change clothes as they were travelling, but the mall supervisor maintained that it was a strict managerial policy.

A case was registered under Section 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the owner and the security guard of the shopping mall.

Sharing the video of the incident on the microblogging site ‘X’, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla criticized the Karnataka government over the incident and alleged that the Karnataka Congress is anti-farmers.

The video has sparked outrage among people and members of pro-Kannada and pro-Farmers outfits have staged a protest following the incident.

Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh took note of the incident and said there was a provision under the law for such an action. Addressing the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday, the minister said, “I just spoke to one of our former BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) commissioners. The government has the provision under the law to shut down the mall for seven days.”