Cyprus-based YouTuber's ticketless travel: BMRCL fumes, to file case

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A foreign 'Youtuber' who gained popularity on social media after he managed to hug billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, came under fire from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for using the city's public transport system without a ticket and boasting about it on his channel.

Fidias Panayiotou, the Cyprus-based social media influencer, had humorously labelled himself a "Professional Mistake Maker" in one of his crazy videos.

A latest video shared by him, showed him committing "mistakes" in Bengaluru which might land him in trouble here. Fidias in the video, is seen asking several commuters if they can travel for free.

When the commuters reply in the negative, he tells them, "I will teach you how to get the metro in India for free," before pulling off a stunt and jumping off the turnstile at a Metro station in the city.

After reaching the platform, the crazy YouTuber was warned by commuters that it will be difficult for him to exit the station. However he mocks them in the video.

He boards the train and captions this part of the video as "How to sneak into the Indian Metro."

In the next part of the video, Fidias is shown doing pull-ups by holding the coach railings inside the train. After the train reaches its destination, he confidently jumps over the ticket counter and makes his way towards the exit declaring, "I'm out."

The netizens mostly from Bengaluru responded negatively to his video in a variety of ways. "It is unethical and completely wrong. You shouldn't be doing this for content," said one user.

A few users expressed their anger and tagged the Bengaluru Police urging them to take strict action against Fidias. "Don't come to India again until you want to follow our rules," added another user.

Meanwhile Anjum Parwez, managing director of BMRCL, commented on the viral video. "I have seen the video of a person entering the platform without a ticket and travelling in a metro train. Such behaviour is not acceptable. I have asked the official concerned to file a criminal case against the person." It is said that Fidias Panayiotou has over 2.26 million YouTube followers.