Woman Alleges Harassment by Pune Metro Security Staff, Almost Misses Vande Bharat Train
Pune, 4th December 2025: A woman commuter has filed a formal complaint with Pune Metro alleging harassment, unlawful luggage checks and gender-insensitive behaviour by security personnel at Garware College Metro Station, leading to a delay that nearly caused her to miss the Vande Bharat Express to Mumbai.
The incident took place on November 26 when the passenger, identified as Shraddha Warde, was travelling alone to Pune Railway Station by Metro. In her complaint to Pune Metro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar, she alleged that a woman security guard accused her of carrying a “screwdriver” inside her suitcase. Despite multiple checks that found no prohibited item, she said she was repeatedly stopped and questioned.
According to the complaint, the first baggage screening took place around 8.44–8.45 am. Warde claimed her suitcase was later inspected again, this time by a male security guard, after the woman guard refused to let her proceed. She alleged that three more female guards searched her belongings before she was allowed to move ahead.
“They kept accusing me without finding anything. I was treated as if I was a criminal,” she wrote, adding that the prolonged delay put her travel plans at serious risk. She eventually boarded a Metro but had to undergo another round of checking at Pune Metro Station, which she said left her “moments away from missing the Vande Bharat.”
Warde also stated that the search exposed jewellery she was carrying for a wedding, as well as personal items including sanitary products in a public setting. She termed the conduct “humiliating” and a violation of women’s dignity and privacy. “It was highly inappropriate that my suitcase was checked by a male security guard,” she stated.
Prior incident cited
The complainant claimed this was not the first instance of such behaviour at the station. She pointed to a similar confrontation in March 2025 involving her husband and the same personnel, including a security guard.
She alleged that during the earlier incident, the guard threatened physical assault and refused to identify himself, while a station executive told her husband not to use the Metro if he was uncomfortable.
Call for action
Warde has demanded an impartial probe, strict disciplinary action against the staff involved, enforcement of gender-sensitive screening protocols, and a written assurance from Pune Metro that such incidents will not recur. She has warned of approaching women’s safety bodies and legal authorities if no steps are taken.
She has also requested that footage from CCTV cameras at Garware Station and Pune Metro Station be reviewed as evidence.
