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An athlete coach was allegedly stopped and harassed at a metro rail station in Dhaka for wearing a T-shirt and shorts after completing his morning training session.
The incident reportedly took place at Farmgate Metro Rail Station on Sunday morning.
The coach, Sazzad Hossain, has been training marathon and ultramarathon runners for around 10 years.
He also regularly runs and conducts training sessions at several parks in Dhaka.
According to Sazzad, a police officer on duty stopped him while he was entering the station and objected to his clothing, calling it “indecent.”
The officer allegedly told him that he could not enter the metro station wearing such clothes.
Sazzad said he explained that he was a running coach and was travelling to another location after completing a training session.
He also asked the officer to show him the rule prohibiting shorts on the metro rail.
He alleged that two other police officers also told him that such clothing was inappropriate in a public place and asked him to return wearing trousers.
He was allegedly kept standing near the ticket-punching machine for around 40 minutes.
Sazzad later posted a video of the incident on Facebook. In the video, a police officer identified as Zakir can be heard telling him that his clothing did not fall within what he considered appropriate attire.
However, a senior metro rail official told the media that there is no dress code for passengers using the metro rail.
The official said he was unaware why police had subjected Sazzad to such treatment.
Sazzad said he later submitted a written complaint at Farmgate Metro Rail Station.
He was eventually allowed to travel by metro after senior authorities were contacted.
He said passengers should not be prevented from using public transport over their clothing unless there is a clearly stated rule prohibiting it.