BENGALURU: A passenger’s death by suicide at a Bengaluru Metro station on Monday has once again put the spotlight on the long-standing demand for platform screen doors (PSDs), even as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has no immediate plan to install them across its existing 96km network.Namma Metro services on the Yellow Line were disrupted for more than two hours after a 37-year-old passenger died by suicide by jumping in front of a moving train at Huskur station on Hosur Road around 5.50pm.Following the incident, services between Bommasandra and Electronics City were suspended.Normal services across the entire 19km Yellow Line stretch from Bommasandra to RV Road resumed around 8pm.The deceased was identified as Rajesh Hiremath, a social media content creator and resident of Anantnagar, Hebbagodi.Police said Hiremath was unmarried, originally from Raichur and lived in Bengaluru with his mother.No suicide note was found on him. Police said he had slipped into depression over job-related issues.Police further said Hiremath had worked with a YouTube channel for around a year before quitting four months ago.Hiremath came under the train arriving from Bommasandra and heading towards RV Road and succumbed to his injuries on the spot.“Upon noticing the passenger on the track, the train operator immediately applied emergency brakes and alerted the Operations Control Centre. Traction power was switched off, and station staff and Metro security personnel were mobilised. Police were also informed immediately,” BMRCL said in a statement.After the track was cleared and mandatory safety inspections were completed, traction power was restored at 7.42pm and services resumed at 8pm.BMRCL said refunds for online tickets involving curtailed journeys would be processed on Tuesday.The incident has once again revived the long-standing demand for installation of platform screen doors at Metro stations.However, BMRCL, which operates Namma Metro, has no immediate plans to install PSDs across its operational network of 96km with 83 stations.As a safety measure, BMRCL has installed steel barricades at high-footfall stations, including Majestic Interchange station, MG Road, Indiranagar, Benniganahalli and RV Road.BMRCL has already proposed installing PSDs at 177 stations, including existing operational stations, as part of the detailed project report for the proposed Hebbal-Sarjapur Metro line under Phase 3A. The project is awaiting final approval from the central government.Since the launch of Metro services in 2011, several incidents of suicide, suicide attempts and accidental falls have been reported on the network.Between 2012 and 2025, four passengers died by suicide after jumping in front of moving trains at Metro stations.At least 16 passengers attempted suicide, while there were 23 incidents of unauthorised entry onto tracks and seven cases of passengers accidentally falling onto tracks.In July this year, two suicide-related incidents were reported, including the fatal incident at Huskur station.In the earlier incident, a woman who jumped onto the track at Rajajinagar station was rescued by security staff.Metro commuters have long been demanding the installation of PSDs to prevent suicide attempts and accidental falls onto tracks.“Passengers have been demanding for years that BMRCL install PSDs, but the corporation has not taken immediate steps. BMRCL should take measures to prevent such incidents in future. Such matters also cause major inconvenience to commuters,” said Sreenath, a Metro user.BMRCL chief public relations officer BL Yeshwanth Chavan said steel barricades had been installed at high-footfall stations as a precautionary measure.“At present, steel barricades have been installed at high-footfall stations as a precautionary measure. These help in maintaining passenger queues and preventing accidental falls onto tracks. As part of future Metro network expansion plans, there are proposals to install platform screen doors at both existing and upcoming stations.”
