OFFICIALS in Indore in Madhya Pradesh were left stunned when an anti-beggary drive led them to a leprosy-afflicted man who has reportedly amassed property worth several lakh rupees, including three houses, a car and three autorickshaws by seeking alms while moving about on a wheeled board. The man has lent money in the famous bullion market here and earns handsome daily interest from this business, an official said.

 

The chain of events that has become the talk of the city started after a 50-year-old leprosy patient was rescued from Sarafa area based on information from the public, said Women and Child Development Department official Dinesh Mishra, who is the nodal officer for the campaign to eradicate begging and make the state’s commercial capital beggar-free. “We have learned that this man owns three concrete houses, including a three-story building. In addition, he has three auto-rickshaws that he rents out.

 

The man also owns a car in which he goes begging. He has even hired a driver for this purpose. He begs while moving about on a wheeled board,” Mishra said. Elaborating further on the ‘riches in rags’ story, Mishra said the man, who has been begging since 2021, had lent Rs 4-5 lakh to people in the bullion market here and charges interest that nets him between Rs 1000- 1200 per day.

 

In addition, he receives 400 to 500 rupees daily in alms, the official said, adding the man has been lodged in a shelter home at present. District Magistrate Shivam Verma said Indore is a “beggar-free city” and such campaigns, to rehabilitate those seeking alms in public, are undertaken after information of such activities is received from the public. The administration has received preliminary information about the assets of the man and appropriate legal action will be taken after all facts are verified, Verma added.

 

However, Rupali Jain, president of Pravesh, an NGO working to eradicate beggary, said the case of this leprosy-afflicted man should be viewed from a humanitarian perspective claiming he did not amass his alleged wealth of millions of rupees by begging. She explained that the man used to work as a mason a few years ago, but was unable to continue after suffering severe damage to his fingers and feet due to leprosy.

 

Facing social and family discrimination, he began begging at night near the famous Chaat Chowpatty in the Sarafa area, she said. “We tried to convince this man twice in the last four years to stop begging. He did stop the practice for a while, but later went back to it,” Jain said while underlining the difficulties in rehabilitating people with diseases that evoke intense social stigma.