G.T. on Magadi Road, Bangalore, Karnataka. There is a mall. Pakhirappa (62), a farmer from Haveri district, came here to watch the movie Kalki with his son Nagaraj (33) on the 16th. At that time, Pakhirappa was wearing a dhoti and tied a turban. One of the security guards of the mall said, 'We will not allow you to enter the mall if you wear a vest.'

As a result, Bagheerappa's son Nagaraj got into an argument with the watchman. Some videotaped this on mobile phones. The security guard allowed Bagheerappa into the mall as the informed media went there. However, on the 17th, Kannada organizations accompanied Bakkeerappa and staged a protest in front of the mall, claiming that the mall management had insulted the farmer. Sivakumar, the in-charge of the mall, spoke to them in peace, apologized for the mistake and honored Pakhirappa by garlanding him.

Read in English: Bengaluru mall denies entry to farmer in dhoti, admits ‘mistake’ after outrage, shutdown notice

In this case, this matter echoed in the Karnataka Assembly session held on Thursday. The members of the ruling party and the opposition party unanimously insisted that action should be taken against the mall that insulted the farmer. Subsequently, the Municipal Corporation officials (Pruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike – PPMP) went to the mall yesterday afternoon, evicted the people there and locked and sealed the mall.

Meanwhile, GT Mall has been collecting property tax for two years at Rs. 1.78 crore was found to be outstanding. Corporation officials have ordered the administration to pay that tax. Speaking about this, a corporation official said, “The mall management has failed to pay the property tax for the year 2023-24. They have already been sent a notice about this. But as the payment has not yet been received, we have decided to close the mall,” he said.

Speaking to The Read about the incident, Fakirappa said, “Thank you to the media for supporting me and the farmers. I never thought that I would get such support from public, government and media. I am glad that everyone supported me. “This is a lesson to such malls that refuse entry on the basis of clothing,” he said.

Narrating the earlier incident, Fakirappa said he had come to Bengaluru to meet his son Nagaraj, an MBA graduate working as a technician in the Kannada film industry. Son Nagaraj took his parents to the mall for a movie at around 6 pm on Tuesday. As he tried to enter the mall, the security personnel stopped Faqeerappa, saying he should not allow men in vests inside.

Despite Nagaraj and Fakirappa's repeated pleas, the security supervisor was unrelenting and said that even women wearing nighties would not be allowed inside. He also said that no mall would allow people in such attire.

On Wednesday, Fakirappa said, “I am a farmer and have traveled far to see my son. He took us to the mall. I was denied entry for wearing a dress. I asked my son to return home, but he questioned such rules. I have never come across such an incident.”

Nagaraj says, “I asked the security guards the reason and was told that my father was wearing a vest and that is why he was stopped. I talked to a friend but they didn't let us for 30 minutes. “Then I called my friends and after the media arrived, they let us in as we were leaving,” he said.

The mall management admitted the mistake

A video of the father and son pleading with mall security officials to let them in has since gone viral on social media, drawing harsh criticism.

A mall employee, who did not want to be named, told The Read that although there was no written instruction on the dress code, he had been verbally instructed not to allow people in “dirty clothes”.

Speaking to The Read yesterday, GT World Mall owner Prashanth said, “I take full responsibility for the mistake from our end.” said.

Confirming that they have received a notice regarding the tax arrears, he said, “PBMP has sought an explanation. We are closing from today (Thursday) evening before the seal announcement. We have already spoken to all the shops and multiplexes in the mall. We will reopen after this problem is resolved,” he said.

In February this year, security personnel at a metro station in Bengaluru denied entry to a man for allegedly wearing “dirty clothes”. A related video went viral on social media. In the video, the man is seen wearing a white shirt and carrying a bundle of cloth on his head. It is to be noted that the security officer was suspended after the video went viral.

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