Reel gone wrong: Bengaluru woman attempts to ‘courier’ elderly father to Mangaluru

Reel gone wrong: Bengaluru woman attempts to ‘courier’ elderly father to Mangaluru

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Mar 18, 2026: A gimmick to attract eyeballs on social media backfired on a family in Bengaluru when they tried to ‘courier’ their elderly father to Mangaluru, claiming later that it was a statement on rising bus fares during the Ugadi-Ramzan season.

For the officials at the courier office though, it sure didn’t feel like a social statement when five members of the family failed to divulge that the gunny sack they brought along to ‘parcel’ had a person inside it, and then insisted in all seriousness that the human be ‘couriered’ to Mangaluru. 

The incident unfolded in Vinayaka Circle in Vyalikaval police station area of the city when the family trooped into the courier office with a large gunny sack, asking for it to be parcelled to an address in Mangaluru. 

Alleged ‘Human Parcel’ Protest Stunt Triggers Panic in Bengaluru; Family Warned After Elderly Man Struggled to Breathe

Bengaluru

An alleged attempt to make a protest "go viral" nearly turned tragic in central #Bengaluru’s Vyalikaval area.

A family sparked a major security… pic.twitter.com/O3KICSCQdG

— Yasir Mushtaq (@path2shah) March 17, 2026

Sensing something amiss, the courier company staff asked the family to open the sack. When the family refused to, the staff opened the gunny sack themselves and were shocked to see a person emerge from it. As per local reports, the elderly man was struggling to breathe and seemed to be in distress. The staff offered him water and attended to him. 

When they demanded answers from the family members, they allegedly insisted that the ‘parcel’ be sent, claiming they were willing to pay the required charges. When the argument escalated, the courier staff called the police, but the family reportedly hurried out of the premises. 

The police, however, managed to track them and called them to the Vyalikaval station. Upon being questioned, the family claimed they were trying to make a social media reel as a statement on the bus fares and the lack of availability of tickets. The police reportedly counselled the family, following which they issued an apology.

As per media reports, the family consisted of a woman, her husband, her mother-in-law and her brother-in-law, and the elderly man in the gunny sack was reportedly the woman’s father. The woman reportedly claimed at the police station that she was upset her father couldn’t travel to Mangaluru due to the bus fares and lack of seats.