A 22-year-old man has taken to Reddit to share a troubling encounter involving alleged moral policing on a private sleeper bus from Bengaluru. Travelling with a female friend, the duo had booked three berths to ensure extra comfort during their journey. However, instead of a peaceful trip, they were met with hostility from the bus conductor, who demanded they sit separately and threatened to call the police if they refused.
“We booked sleeper berths on a Bangalore bus and got threatened with ‘police’, common?” a Reddit user wrote. Adding context, the person expressed, “Had a weird experience on a private sleeper bus from Bangalore and wanted to know if this is normal. Two of us (both adults) booked 3 lower sleeper berths in a 2x1 AC sleeper so we’d have extra space and one person could sleep comfortably. The conductor noticed and first asked us to sit separately. When we didn’t immediately move, he started saying things like ‘call your parents’ and ‘we’ll go to police’ which honestly felt unnecessary and a bit intimidating.”
The man shared that though they moved to “avoid the drama”, the entire incident “left a pretty bad taste.”
{{/usCountry}}The man shared that though they moved to “avoid the drama”, the entire incident “left a pretty bad taste.”
{{/usCountry}}“We had valid tickets and weren’t causing any disturbance. It felt more like moral policing than any actual rule.”
He asked if this is a common rule with private buses in Bengaluru or Karnataka.
“Do operators actually have policies about who can sit/sleep together, or is it just staff trying to avoid complaints? Not trying to escalate anything, just genuinely curious if others have faced this and what the usual expectation is,” the man added and concluded the post.
In a comment to a Redditor, the man added, “I am sorry for causing confusion here as I am typing this I am in the bus only, we are 22 M and F. Idea was she will go to the single lower berth when she is sleeping meanwhile rest of the time she could talk eat in this double.”
How did social media react?
An individual suggested, “I know it is scary, but if you have purchased the seats, the conductor has no say in it. I understand you both are kids and are afraid of confrontation and escalation to parents. If you are travelling without your parents' knowledge, it's fair to just avoid causing drama. If they know about you both are travelling together at least, confront him and ask why you should listen to him.”
Another added, “I think this is an isolated incident. The conductor saw the empty seat and wanted to sell it to someone so he could make some money from the situation. It's good that you stood your ground OP.”
A third shared, “My girlfriend and I have travelled together in sleeper berths of KSRTC and never faced any issues till now.” A fourth wrote, “I've faced this same issue. They threatened me, saying they'll call my parents and report. And we couldn't travel like that unless we were siblings. He kept cussing at us every time he passed by. He even came in between the journey to check. Such a bad experience. When will they grow up.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)