Cops launch drive to rescue child beggars who are often lured into crime; orphans to be sent to ashram
Cops launch drive to rescue child beggars who are often lured into crime; orphans to be sent to ashram
The omnipresent urchins, who tug at your sleeve or knock at your taxi window at traffic signals and refuse to go away until you cough up some alms, may disappear from the streets of Mumbai soon.
For, the Mumbai police have launched a special drive to identify beggar pockets and rescue minor beggars who are often forced into theft, robbery and criminal activities by anti-social elements.
In the last fortnight, the police have rescued nearly 300 beggars from areas of Colaba and Mahim and sent them to the Umerkhadi observation home.
According to the police, the beggars were being rescued under the Juvenile Justice Act, which prevents minors from begging.
"Most of these beggars come from outside Mumbai and are more prone to engaging in anti-social activities," said Rajnish Seth, joint commissioner of police (law and order).
The rescued children will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee, which will decide their fate.
"Either their parents will come and take their custody or else they will be sent to an ashram in Solapur," said an official from the observation home.
The police, which plans to launch these drives in various parts of the city, has received specific inputs that minors were being forced into activities like theft, pickpocketing, and begging.
Business of begging
So where does the booty earned from alms go?
Only 1/4th of the day's collection goes to the beggar, the rest is pocketed by the kingpin. According to a rough estimate, the turnover of the begging business is Rs 180-crore annually.
Police estimate that there are around 10,000 minors begging across the city, each earning around Rs 500 a day. According to a state government estimate in 2006, there are around 3 lakh beggars in the city.
In fact, the city had an anti-beggar squad which was was disbanded around 2001, a time when the inflow of beggars in the city increased, and they started working as organised groups.
Cops revealed that if a village boy is lost in Mumbai, there are chances that he will land up in Dharavi and Malvani, where trainers such as Aftab, Salimbhai and Ahmedbhai teach them the tricks of begging.
Training
MiD DAY learnt that children are initially trained to carry out logistic tasks such as carrying food and water to the beggar, who are deployed at iconic spots such as CST station and Gateway of India.
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The apprentice beggars are expected to pick up the traits from their trainers.
The police plan to launch the beggar rescue drives in different parts of the city, after having
undertaken them in Colaba and Mahim
During the exhaustive training process, physically-challenged beggars learn to make "best use" of their disabled bodies to attract the attention of bystanders and gain their sympathy in the form of alms.
Salimbhai's team members earn between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 on normal days after initial training. The income almost doubles during festivals.
Aftabbhai, who holds sway between Mahim and Bandra, has hired an army of strongmen to collect the money on his behalf.
10,000
Number of minor beggars across the city
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Rs 500
Earning of a beggar per day
10,000
Number of child beggars in Mumbai
3 lakh
Approximate number of beggars in city
Rs 180 cr
Annual turnover of the begging industry
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