Several young men travelled by Dhaka Metro Rail wearing shorts on Thursday morning in protest against the alleged harassment of athlete trainer Sazzad Hossain over his clothing at Farmgate station.

The demonstration, titled ‘Hafpant Pore Metorail-e!’ (On the Metro in Shorts!), was organised at Farmgate Metro Rail Station between 5am and 8am. Organisers invited people who believed that passengers should not be harassed or prevented from using public transport because they were wearing ordinary sportswear.

The protest followed an incident on 27 September involving Sazzad Hossain. According to reports, Hossain had finished exercising and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts when he went to board the metro at Farmgate. A police officer on duty at the station allegedly described his clothing as ‘indecent’ and kept him standing near the ticket-punching machine for around 40 minutes.

The incident subsequently triggered discussion on social media about acceptable clothing on public transport and whether passengers can be stopped or questioned over attire when there is no clearly stated dress code.

The organisers responded by calling for a peaceful protest in which participants would wear running shorts and T-shirts and travel on the metro as ordinary passengers. Their message was that any restriction on clothing should be based on clear, written and publicly communicated rules rather than discretionary enforcement.

Interest in the protest grew rapidly online. By about 10.30pm on Wednesday, 672 people had marked themselves as ‘going’ on the Facebook event, while around 8,200 had indicated that they were interested.

At around 7am on Thursday, three young men arrived near the Farmgate station, close to Anwara Udyan. They were private-sector employee and runner Sagar Majumder, businessman Mahfuzur Rahman and another participant, Rakibul Islam.

Majumder said he and other runners commonly wear shorts because they are more comfortable for running. He said the recent incident involving Hossain had raised concerns among runners that they too could face similar treatment while using public transport.

“We are runners. Wearing shorts is more comfortable when running, so we wear them,” Majumder said, explaining why he had joined the demonstration.

He said the protest was intended to convey that clothing such as running shorts should not automatically be viewed negatively.

After 7am, Majumder and Mahfuzur entered the metro station wearing shorts. They purchased tickets for Bijoy Sarani, passed through the ticket gates and boarded the train. They travelled from Farmgate to Bijoy Sarani before getting off and leaving the station.

Rakibul did not board the train with them. He told The Daily Ittefaq that he had gone to the station after seeing the event online and noticing that many people he knew had expressed interest in it. His intention, he said, was to take part in the protest against the reported harassment of a fellow runner.

At roughly the same time, two other young men wearing shorts reportedly entered the Farmgate station through another entrance. Their identities were not immediately known. Witnesses said they bought tickets for Motijheel and boarded the metro.

The episode has brought renewed attention to the balance between public transport regulations, passenger conduct and personal choice of clothing. For a mass-transit system, clearly communicated rules are particularly significant because passengers need to know what is permitted before entering stations or boarding trains.

The protest organisers have maintained that their action was not intended to create disorder. Instead, they presented it as a peaceful civic demonstration against what they described as arbitrary harassment and in favour of clear rules and respectful treatment of passengers.

At the centre of the debate is a straightforward question: if a particular form of clothing is not permitted on public transport, where are the rules stated, and how should they be applied consistently? The events at Farmgate have turned that question into a wider public discussion, with runners and other metro users now examining how clothing standards are interpreted in everyday travel.