Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The officials of women and child welfare were stumped when they rescued a woman beggar from Shani Mandir and found that she had Rs 75,000 with her. Even more startling was that the beggar claimed that she had collected the amount in 10-12 days. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that she earns over Rs 6,000 per day by begging! Dinesh Mishra of the Women and Child Development Department and his team ran a rescue campaign in Bada Ganpati and Rajwada area.
During the operation, a woman was caught begging in front of Shani temple. When the team searched her, they found Rs 74,768 in her possession. The beggar woman told the department officials that she often begs in the surrounding areas including Shani temple, Jain temple and other areas. Notes ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 500 were found with her.
There were 423 notes of 100 rupees (Rs 42,300), 174 notes of 50 rupees (Rs 8,700), 305 notes of 20 rupees (Rs 6,100), 280 notes of 10 rupees (Rs 2,800), 18 notes of 200 rupees (Rs 3,600) and 22 notes of 500 rupees (Rs 11,000). She has been rescued and sent to Ujjain's Sevadham Ashram. She is being questioned in detail. Following orders of collector Asheesh Singh, a campaign is going on in the city to make it free of beggars, and the Woman and Child Development Department is heading this campaign all over the city.
Rich Beggars
* Rs 29,00 was found with an old man rescued in front of IT Park in August.
* Rs 19,000 was found with a woman rescued from Lavkush Chauraha.
* Rs 870 was found with a woman rescued from Bhanwarkuan Chouraha. She used to lend money on interest.
* A woman from Lasudia Mori area who was rescued in February had collected Rs 2.5 lakhs from begging and had made an FD of Rs 50,000 in the name of her children. She used to earn more than Rs 1000 per day begging outside the Malharganj Shani Mandir.
Operation so far
Rescue operation was started in August. So far, 300 people have been rescued and sent to Seva Dham, Ujjain. About 200 people were taken by their relatives after giving affidavits. In all, 34 children have also been rescued.
