Bengaluru CEO Says 'Won't Hire Males From 4 States', Sparks Row Online

A Bengaluru-based company has announced that it will not hire male candidates from four states, courting controversy and criticism on social media. The four states named in the policy are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Karthik Shenoy, CEO of A1 Sports World, announced the decision in a post on X on September 23. He said the policy followed a “lengthy discussion and quarrel” within the organisation.

What Did The CEO Say?

In his post, Shenoy said the company would not hire male candidates from the four northern states. He also mentioned that the company already has a female employee from Rajasthan and said she supported the decision.

"I'm sorry for this... But today we have made it very clear after lengthy discussion and quarrel...We will not hire any male candidates in our company who come from these 4 states in north india… We do have 1 Rajasthani already working for us. She has 100% supposed this," he wrote.

Im sorry for this...

But today we have made it very clear after lengthy discussion and quarrel...

We will not hire any male candidates in our company who come from these 4 states in north india...

1. Uttar Pradesh.
2. Rajasthan.
3. Bihar.
4. Madhya Pradesh.

We do have 1…

— Karthik SG (@kkarthikkgs) September 22, 2026

The announcement drew reactions from several users, with some questioning whether candidates were being generalised based on their state of origin. Others challenged the basis of excluding applicants from entire states rather than assessing candidates individually.

Social Media Reactions

The hiring announcement sparked a mixed response on X. Several users criticised the policy as a broad generalisation, arguing that an individual's state of origin should not be used as a basis for assessing their character or suitability for employment.

"Imagine being so bad at hiring that instead of screening individuals for competence and character, you blacklist entire states," a user said.

Others questioned the reasoning behind the decision and said misconduct by an individual should not automatically be attributed to people from an entire state.

"What kind of decision is this? What's the reasoning?" another questioned. "A person should be screened based on their competence and, if necessary, their character, but generalising entire states is madness," the third user said.

CEO Explains Reason Behind The Decision

In a follow-up post, Shenoy said the decision came after a male employee from one of the four states was dismissed. According to Shenoy, the employee had been warned twice but was later accused of being abusive towards female employees and allegedly trying to force himself on one of them.

Shenoy said his company works with young children and that the safety of his team and the children was the priority behind the decision. He also said the employee had an MBA and that his resume and background initially appeared clean.

Let me get this right again...

This mess started 2 weeks ago when an employee from one of the aforementioned mentioned state was fired, despite giving him warning 2wice he was still abusive to female employees, and he was forcing himself on one of them...

We work with quite… https://t.co/yKeNMMBTl8

— Karthik SG (@kkarthikkgs) September 23, 2026

What Else Did He Say?

Shenoy said his company has 32 employees, including 14 women, and that 20 employees are from other states, with 12 from non-southern states. He also said the company employs people from different religious backgrounds.

Yes ill definitely standby this decision... he was an MBA graduate and resume and background looked clean...

But after 2 months he started being abusive to female employees and also tried to force himself on one of them...

For us our teams safety standards and the Young kids we… https://t.co/oUThLZAszu

— Karthik SG (@kkarthikkgs) September 23, 2026

He reiterated that the company believes in equal opportunity across gender, religion, caste and creed, while saying his intention was to highlight concerns around respecting women and children.

“Stop giving me gyan of my state, yes we know there are problems also, no place is white as a paper. But here we accept it and try to correct it. Offenders are behind bars,” he added.