Farmer denied entry to Bengaluru mall, felicitated by management after outrage

BENGALURU: A farmer wearing a dhoti was denied entry at GT World Mall on Magadi Road on Tuesday evening. Fakirappa, hailing from Aremallapura in Haveri district, had accompanied his son Nagaraj to watch a movie, but was initially denied entry citing dress code.

Fakirappa and Nagaraj were made to wait outside the mall for over half an hour. After outrage by YouTubers who were making videos, the father-son duo were finally allowed inside.

On Wednesday morning, a representative of the mall management, Suresh, felicitated Fakirappa with a shawl and garland. The security guard Arun, who had denied entry to the farmer, was also suspended. Policemen were deployed both inside and outside the mall. A KSRP platoon was also stationed outside.

“There was a small incident and the security guard, who is new to the job, took the decision on his own. Nobody has said that people wearing panche (dhoti) should not be allowed. We are all children of farmers and our owner is also a farmer. The G and T stand for Gangamma and Thimmaiah, there was no intention to hurt any farmer. On behalf of the security guard, I apologise”, Suresh said.

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) leader Kurubur Shantakumar condemned the incident as shameful. “The police should take strict action against the mall owners and they should be made to apologise to farmers. Such incidents should not recur. Farmers are the backbone of the nation and if the mall authorities do not apologise, we will stage a half-naked protest”, he said.

Meanwhile, Kannada activists, led by Roopesh Rajanna, arrived at the mall wearing panche (dhoti) and shalya and demanded that the mall authorities apologise to farmers. They also raised slogans against the mall management. The activists were later detained by the police and let off.