Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Following the recent child molestation incident in Habibganj, police will launch a citywide drive to identify and monitor homeless individuals, including rag pickers and those living in abandoned government quarters.
The move aims to prevent crimes by people without fixed addresses. The accused in the Habibganj case, 38-year-old rag picker Ajeet Rai, is a habitual drug addict who had no permanent residence and used to sleep wherever he found space.
He was later traced hiding inside an old sewage pipe in the Bajaria area. Police officials said several such individuals have been found involved in earlier crimes as well.
Many homeless people occupy deserted quarters in localities such as 1100 Quarters, Piplani and Govindpura, or live along railway tracks, in parks, and inside discarded sewage pipes, making it difficult for authorities to keep track of them.
To address this, police teams will visit such areas to collect names, photographs, original addresses, and occupation details of the people living there.
The information will be compiled into a dedicated database to aid future investigations. Officials said this data, along with CCTV footage and other evidence, will help in tracking suspects and solving cases more efficiently.
Police Commissioner Harinarayanachari Mishra said verification drives are conducted from time to time, but the recent incident has prompted a wider campaign. This exercise will help identify suspicious individuals and prevent such crimes in future, he said.
