BENGALURU: A 20-year-old speech and hearing-impaired man on Wednesday morning purchased a new Metro travel card, topped it up with Rs 150 and hopped on board a Metro train at the Yeshwanthpur station. Armed with a laminated sheet stating ‘I am Deaf and Dumb’ in both Kannada and English, Mallikarjun visited coach by coach seeking alms from commuters. He was caught at Yeshwantpur station after he repeated the same during his return trip an hour later.
Mallikarjun from Koppal has been booked and fined Rs 500 by the security staff of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), said a Metro source. It appears that the onward and return Metro rides have given Mallikarjun a good collection as he was found with Rs 960 in his pockets when taken into custody.
“This is the first such instance of a man caught begging inside our train,” he added. Mallikarjun has been booked under the Metro Act (Section 59) for nuisance and causing discomfort to passengers inside the train.
The source said, “Mallikarjun bought a Metro card today at Yeshwanthpur station today at 8.39 am, for which he paid Rs 200. Of that, Rs 50 was charged for the card and Rs 150 was the travel amount in a card. He exited at Mahakavi Kuvempu Road Metro station at 9.27 am. He returned at 10.24 am and boarded the train from Platform 1 towards Nagasandra. Metro staff were already searching for him. He was caught at the Yeshwanthpur station by a security staffer on the platform after he alighted.”
A passenger who noticed Mallikarjun seeking alms in the train during his onward journey alerted a Metro staffer. “The security surveillance room passed on the message through walkie-talkie to all Metro stations and it was shared with all staffers on platforms,” the source added.
Mallikarjun was later taken to an ENT specialist at KC General Hospital at Malleswaram by a staffer to check if his disability claim was genuine. “The report issued by the audiologist confirmed profound hearing loss in the left ear and minimal hearing loss in the right ear,” he said. The bill of Rs 100 for the medical checkup was paid by BMRCL. Officials informed that Mallikarjun is not a habitual beggar, and this is the first time that he has indulged in it.