Woman earns Rs 2.5 lakhs in 45 days by forcing her children to beg, owns land and two-storey house

INDORE: A woman has allegedly earned Rs 2.5 lakhs in just 45 days by making her eight-year-old daughter and her sons, aged 9 and 10, beg on the streets here in Madhya Pradesh. The said woman's family is part of 150 people involved in begging in the city. An NGO has claimed that they own land and a two-storey house in Rajasthan.

“The woman, Indra Bai, was recently found begging at the Luv-Kush intersection on the Indore-Ujjain road. We found cash to the tune of Rs 19,200 in her possession,” said Rupali Jain, president of Pravesh, an organisation working with the administration to make Indore a beggar-free city. On seeing their team, Indra's two sons fled the scene but the girl was placed under the care of the Child Welfare Committee.

The activists handed over the woman to the police. She has given a statement to the police that she earned two and a half lakh rupees by sending her children to beg, out of which she gave Rs 1 lakh to her husband to buy a bike and the remaining amount was deposited in a bank in Rajasthan. Police said that Indra Bhai is currently in police custody and will be produced in court soon.

As part of making the state beggar free, activities are progressing in about ten cities including Indore. District Magistrate Ashish Singh informed that ten children who were involved in begging have been shifted to a childcare centre. He also stated that strict action will be taken against those who use children to beg.